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Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:06:01 -0500FeedCreator 1.7.21992 called and it wants its rack panel back!http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/dont-let-this-be-your-rack-panel.html
Until just this year, we've been limited to offering engraved rack panels with basic logos, and text file type layouts. If it looked good in Ariel and with a 2D logo, we could do it.

Let this be your rack panel -- with color and image-based layouts.

We've teamed up with a speciality printer and engraver to offer you something fun and different as you're building your racks.

With a dust-free, lamp-free design, new laser projectors from Panasonic offer 20,000 hours of virtually maintenance-free operation. Plus, they feature high brightness and contrast for optimal daylight viewing.

Don't sweat lamp failure, air filter warning messages, lift/scaffolding rental, and time. Give your congregation all of the attention it deserves, and give up projector maintenance for good.

]]>Dave HornMon, 29 Jan 2018 12:14:09 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/is-your-projector-draining-your-tech-budget.htmlMake your wireless systems perform more reliably.http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/bandpass-filters-are-your-new-friend.html
With the increasing challenges posed by FCC TV channel reassignment, the 600 MHz cell phone service rollout, and the increase of LED stage lighting and LED walls, wireless mic and IEM users will need to squeeze out every last drop of system performance to ensure reliable, drop free performance. This article will try to explain how out-of-band interference can jeopardize the performance of your wireless systems and what you can do to minimize it.

What is out-of-band interference?

Basically it is every signal picked up by your antenna that is not the signal from your intended transmitter. In other words it is stray RF interference, be it electrical motor noise, hash from your lighting and projection systems, assisted-listening system, security radios, comms and your other wireless mics and IEMs.

LED Wall Interference

Very soon it will also include an audience with new 600 MHz cell phones in their pockets and maybe signals from Microsoft Whitespace devices. Antennas aren't smart and simply shove every signal they receive into the front end of your receiver which directly affects the noise floor which you are trying to overcome. The interference from a high noise floor is likely the single largest external factor affecting the range of your wireless mics.

For your receiver to understand a signal it must be strong enough to overcome the background noise floor.

]]>Dave HornThu, 25 Jan 2018 17:17:10 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/bandpass-filters-are-your-new-friend.htmlIt's too loud!http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/its-too-loud.html
Virtually every small and medium-sized church with a band fights the same fight. I've heard it called "platform wars", "volume wars" and similar descriptions, but in most cases the facts are simple -- the stage volume (monitors, instrument amplifiers and acoustical volume of instruments like drums) is simply too loud. And that additional volume forces the sound system in the main seating area to be even louder and/or worse sounding than it needs to be.

At my own church, we still fight with this most weekends and we're making progress. The first step we took was to get as many of our musicians as possible on earphones or headphones, and to eliminate stage monitor speakers. That cost us less than $1000. We have some additional steps to take, but let's stick with solving the in-ear monitoring equation for now.

What we did was to buy a simple headphone amplifier. Today, let's look at the HA4x4 from Elite Core. It's $119.99 and can provide up to four users the choice of between 1 and 4 different headphone mixes.

How do you create a separate mix for ear/headphones? Most audio mixers have auxiliary mix busses and just like you'd send a feed to a monitor amplifier, you can do the same to a headphone amplifier. In this case, you can send up to four different mixes so that each musician can hear exactly what he or she wants to hear and at the precise volume they'd like, all without bothering anyone else or adding to the volume level in the seating area.

Elite Core also makes wired bodypacks with volume control. The WBP-VC gives the wearer a secure place to plug in the earphone mini-plug and an XLR connector for the connection to the headphone amplifier with a beltclip. Try the Elite Core Prohex-Core-18 at $37.99 to get the cable and volume control you need.

Next time, we'll talk about making some or all of this wireless, but we wanted to give you an affordable entry point for reducing stage volume in your facility.

Let us help design a custom solution to quiet your stage volume today!

]]>Dave HornThu, 16 Nov 2017 10:44:42 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/its-too-loud.htmlPanasonic PT-RZ570 - 24/7 Workhorse, perfect for churches and business use. http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/panasonic-pt-rz570-247-workhorse-perfect-for-churches-and-business-use.html
It's not the least expensive 5000 lumen laser projector, but if you're interested in a 100% maintenance-free projector for your church, restaurant, school or business, look no further. The Panasonic PT-RZ570 features a sealed light engine and no need for filter cleanings, and lamp or bulb changes. It's totally maintenance-free. And the video quality is impressive.

The PT-RZ570 has become the projector of choice for corporate-owned Buffalo Wild Wings stores because it can operate all day, every day while providing an exceptional picture. BWW pairs these projectors with Da-Lite's new Parallax projection screen material for ultimate viewing angle and ambient light rejection. If you've been in a BWW restaurant and have noticed screens that appear to be as bright as the smaller televisions beside them, that combination of PT-RZ570 and Parallax at 58x104" is what you're looking it.

In addition to exceptional video performance with great contrast and shadow details, the BWW franchise owners that we work with also don't have to worry about doing maintenance, someone being injured while doing maintenance and/or spending the time of the manager or owner (the only people most stores allow to climb a ladder - or do something silly like standing on a bar stool).

In 2010, the FCC sold off the 700MHz radio spectrum for use by telecommunications companies -- essentially for use by public safety and wireless broadband service for mobile phones and in rural areas.

In that process, television stations and wireless microphone users were forced to move out of the range that is specifically the frequencies between 698 and 806 MHz. The tech community had to replace tens of thousands of wireless microphones.

In 2017, that process is repeating itself for the 600Mhz range. This time, the frequencies between 614-698 MHz are affected. And sometime between now and July 2020, with few exceptions, any wireless microphone operating in this range will have to be retired.

2010 was difficult for many users having to replace wireless microphones. What makes the 2017-2020 “repacking” different and even more difficult is that as the television broadcasters are moved from the 600 MHz frequencies, most are being moved into the existing 400-500 MHz space where unlicensed wireless microphones are (and will continue to be) permitted to operate.

Despite remaining legal, in some markets, we have already discovered some cases where legal wireless microphones will not be able to find a safe operating frequency due to the increased density of broadcast traffic. Large churches in Indianapolis, look out!

The repacking of those television stations will come in Transition Phases 1-10 between September 2018 and July 2020.

Products purchased since the 1st of September 2014, will be covered by this warranty timing extension.

No other changes have been made to the terms and conditions. If you have questions about what the warranty covers for your products, please review the terms and conditions at http://www.music-group.com/support/home

A 10 year warranty tells you that this company stands behind its promise of high-quality equipment! Please let us know if you have questions.

]]>Dave HornThu, 28 Sep 2017 20:27:15 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/10-year-warranty-upgrade-on-midas-klark-teknik-turbosound-lab-gruppen-lake-tannoy-and-tc-electronic.htmlWarranty Registration Reminder - don't ignore this warranty card. http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/warranty-registration-reminder-dont-ignore-that-warranty-card.html
Many times, I am tempted to not fill out the warranty card when I buy something new. I get lots of email. I get lots of mail. And in most cases, by getting you to fill out a warranty card, companies are buying your contact info so that they can send you marketing information. Even so, there is at least one company whose warranty cards you do not want to ignore.

Music Group offers a three-year warranty on most of the brands they represent -- Behringer, Midas, Tannoy, TC Group and Turbosound (the ones we carry). However, you are required to register the product within 90 days to secure the three-year warranty. Customers who do not register the product receive a one-year warranty. And it is our underdstanding that there are no exceptions to receive three-year coverage, if you have a problem and have not registered.

Please know that registration of all Music Group products is critical to recieving the extended three-year warranty that you've already paid for as part of the product price. If it comes to it, register the product, and then unsubscribe from any marketing emails that you don't want to receive. At least that's what I'd do if I were you.

]]>Dave HornMon, 21 Aug 2017 17:27:12 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/warranty-registration-reminder-dont-ignore-that-warranty-card.htmlDo you need a sign for your church? Stewart Signshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/do-you-need-a-sign-for-your-church.html
We can't help you with a church sign, but we know someone who can. Since 1968, Stewart has provided quality signs to places of worship across the country and around the world. Almost 50,000 satisfied customers later, Stewart Sign is America’s largest church sign company. For more information, please click here. ]]>Dave HornMon, 21 Aug 2017 16:53:07 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/do-you-need-a-sign-for-your-church.htmlFCC 600MHz Wireless Notice - the final wordhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/News/fcc-600mhz-wireless-notice-the-final-word.html
Today, we received information from Shure that tells the final story of the FCC 600MHz incentive auctions pretty well, and very definitively.

Sennheiser, Shure and Audio-Technica have all stopped offering systems in the 600MHz range, and we started down that road a couple years ago on our own. We are now following the FCC mandate that we add the following disclaimer to our point-of-sale materials. As of earlier in 2017, there is no option to order a 600MHz wireless microphone system from our website, and our team has been instructed to tell you about the hazards over the phone.

CONSUMER ALERT

This particular wireless microphone device operates in portions of the 617-652 MHz or 663-698 MHz frequencies. Beginning in 2017, these frequencies are being transitioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the 600 MHz service to meet increasing demand for wireless broadband services. Users of this device must cease operating on these frequencies no later than July 13, 2020. In addition, users of this device may be required to cease operations earlier than that date if their operations could cause harmful interference to a 600 MHz service licensee's wireless operations on these frequencies. For more information, visit the FCC's wireless microphone website at www.fcc.gov/wireless-microphones-guide or call the FCC at 1- 888-CALL-FCC (TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC).

The primary takeaway is that as of July 13, 2020, use of wireless microphones in those ranges must be stopped, and if a licensed user (think T-mobile, Dish Networks, Comcast) begins testing or use prior to that date, that you are also required to yield to that user. Add to that the fact that your wireless systems will not work in the face of that testing and/or use.

If you have 600MHz wireless systems in use currently, it's time to plan for these upcoming changes. Please let us know your questions. We can help you select new systems for the future.

This is exactly why you buy a digital audio console. In its continual quest to provide more value to Soundcraft customers, we are happy to announce a free update to the Si Impact that doubles your total channels to mix from 40 to 80!

A Greater Impact

• Now you can combine the 40 mix inputs on the Si Impact console plus all 32 USB inputs for 72 total channels to mix.

• Add one Soundcraft Mini Stagebox 32i or 16i as additional input sources to get up to 64 mic channels to mix. Or, add a second MADI option card and two Mini Stagebox units to select from up to 96 microphone preamps, 136 total inputs and 80 channels to mix.

]]>Dave HornFri, 30 Jun 2017 10:47:24 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/soundscraft-si-impact-double-your-channel-count-free.htmlAKG 600MHz Wireless Trade-In Programhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/News/akg-600mhz-wireless-trade-in-program.html
AKG is giving you the opportunity to TRADE IN any qualifying* complete, working 600MHz wireless system and save up to $350 per channel when STEPPING UP to select AKG wireless sets by trading in obsolete 600 MHz systems before April 30, 2018.

1. Purchase your new qualifying AKG wireless system from us.2. Download and fill in AKG Rebate Form.3. Firmly tape the Rebate Authorization Label from your Rebate Form to a single carton and send us your old qualifying wireless system along with your form, your original dated store receipt, and the UPC label from your new AKG wireless system. Please note AKG is unable to accept any packages without the Rebate Authorization Label!4. Receive a check in the mail in 8-10 weeks! AKG USA 600MHz Wireless Trade-In Process

Please contact us at 800-747-7301 if you have any questions.

]]>Dave HornThu, 22 Jun 2017 11:42:20 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/akg-600mhz-wireless-trade-in-program.htmlThe best way to connect your computer audio to your audio mixer.http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/the-best-way-to-connect-your-computer-audio-to-your-audio-mixer.html
I did it. After too much messing around with cables and computer direct boxes of different types, I broke down and bought a USB audio interface for our church's presentation computer (ProPresenter, PowerPoint, etc.) in order to replace the PC direct box used to connect the unbalanced stereo audio signal from the computer's headphone output to the balanced input on the audio mixer.

No matter what we did with the new all-in-one computer (one that someone else picked out), the self-noise at the headphone jack (its only analog audio output) was simply more than I could bear. When playing music, the noise was not noticeable, but between songs (no matter the gain staging), anyone could hear just a bit of constant "hashy" noise, if they listened for it.

Some people blame this type of noise on electrical grounding, some on radio frequency noise from spinning hard drives, some describe it as clock noise. Whatever caused it in this case, it's not something that could be addressed by converting the unbalanced signal to a balanced line with a direct box, by proper system grounding, or by anything conventional, so I gave in and spent some of our fiercely-guarded budget money, and the noise is gone.

There are lots of USB audio interfaces out there, but everywhere I look lately (even in places where we didn't sell them), we see the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or other Focusrite variants. The Scarlett 2i2 is a 2x2 USB audio interface that can be used to play back or to record audio. In most cases, people buy USB interfaces in order to record, but in this application, stereo playback is what we're after. And the Scarlett 2i2 does it really well.

We use the 2i2 for our SMAART system analysis setups, for recording and for playback. Focusrite interfaces are the perfect partner for Pro Tools, so Scarlett 2i2 comes with Pro Tools | First recording software, as well as Ableton Live Lite and a suite of software and samples so you can start recording straight away. As you’d expect, it works flawlessly with all major DAWs on Mac and PC. It's a handy device, for sure. And at $149.99, it may just be exactly what you need.

]]>Dave HornMon, 19 Jun 2017 16:19:31 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/the-best-way-to-connect-your-computer-audio-to-your-audio-mixer.htmlSave $50-600 each on Sennheiser wireless microphone systemshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/News/save-50-600-each-on-sennheiser-wireless-microphone-systems.html
Over the next few years, the FCC’s Incentive Auction will prohibit customers from operating wireless microphones in the 600 MHz frequency band. Your current wireless systems may be affected. If so - Sennheiser will help you trade in your old 600 MHz gear towards new wireless!

PROMOTIONAL PERIOD

Sennheiser’s 600 MHz program runs from June 14th, 2017 through December 31st, 2017. Rebates range from $50-600 per unit with most at $100-150.

STEP 1: Check if your current wireless will be affected

Wireless mics and monitoring systems are currently allowed to operate from 470 - 698 MHz. In the next few years, FCC will limit operation to 470 - 608 MHz. While the majority of wireless systems in use today will be unaffected, customers with systems that operate above 608 MHz will unfortunately need to discontinue use and migrate to new frequency ranges. Anything in the 700MHz range is already obsolete as of year 2010.

To check if your current wireless will be affected, look for a printed sticker on your equipment indicating its frequency range. On Sennheiser wireless, this information is printed on both transmitters and receivers and is often visible on the main display.

Sennheiser offers a wide range of wireless mics and monitoring systems for any budget, which fully comply with current and future FCC rules and regulations. Choose from the following wireless series, in these recommended future-proof frequency ranges.

STEP 3: Trade-in your old 600 MHz wireless gear

When your new Sennheiser wireless systems arrive:

1. Make a copy of your dated sales receipt. Purchases must be made from June 14th-Dec 31st, 2017.2. Cut the UPC codes off the sides of your new Sennheiser boxes (no photocopies accepted)3. Complete the Trade-In form available at sennheiser.com/600-mhz-promo4. Send your old wireless, sales receipt, UPC code and completed trade-in form to the address listed on the form. To be eligible, your traded wireless equipment must operate in the 600 MHz band. Any manufacturer, make or model will be accepted for trade-in rebate, provided it operates in 600 MHz.5. That’s it! Please allow 6-8 weeks for your trade-in to be processed, and your check to be mailed.

]]>Dave HornFri, 16 Jun 2017 15:14:22 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/save-50-600-each-on-sennheiser-wireless-microphone-systems.htmlStreaming to Facebook Live using the Roland VR-4HDhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/streaming-to-facebook-live-using-the-roland-vr-4hd.html
How do I stream to Facebook Live? That's a question that we get asked all of the time.

This quick tutorial video and article teaches you about the four basic components, how to setup your encoding software and the optimum settings in Facebook in order to stream your live event to Facebook. The Roland VR-4HD AV Switcher allows you to connect computers, cameras, video sources, microphones, key-in titles, and add special effects to engage your audience and simplify your workflow for streaming to Facebook Live. Read this article and you will soon become an expert on streaming using the Roland VR-4HD.

We sell a lot of the VR-4HD mixers at $2795 and find that they are a great upgrade to video mixers sold just a few years ago for a lot more money. The VR-4HD is an HD-compatible all-in-one audio/video mixer with USB 3.0 connectivity. Click here for more information.

Give us a call, if you have questions and if you'd like to order one today.

When you want the protein and to skip the carbs, all you need is the meat and cheese, and not the whole sandwich, right?! But when was the last time the restaurant let you order that way?

You already know that a projection screen is better than a painted white wall for image quality, so you called only to find that a 24' wide electric screen costs about $9000.

You need that screen, but don't know how $9000 is going to fit into your budget.

Are you willing to do a little extra work in order to save some money? I'll bet that you can guess that I'm going to tell you that you can order a projection screen without the "bun" and the extra trimmings.

The Draper Evenroll Rope and Pulley Manual projection screen comes in large sizes from 168-288" wide and in 16:9, 4:3, square and 2.35:1 cinemascope formats.

It's a simple system; you will have to raise and lower the screen with a marine-grade pulley system without the benefit of remote control, electricity and anything other than a little hand and arm strength. The rope cable won't twist or bind, and you'll get the same Matt White projection surface found in many other Draper models.

The Evenroll Rope and Pulley manual screens start at about $2000 and top out at a 24x24' for just over $3000 -- less than one-third as much as a comparable electric screen. If you'd like more information on the Evenroll manual screen, call us at (800) 747-7301.

]]>Dave HornWed, 19 Apr 2017 17:21:18 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/need-a-huge-screen-for-gym-or-auditorium-use.htmlLiving as One Multisite Platform - the new standard in live event video deliveryhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/living-as-one-multisite-platform-the-new-standard-in-live-event-video-delivery.html

Have you ever wondered how to extend live video to other sites at a viewable size larger than a desktop computer or a mobile device? The Living as One Multisite Platform was designed from the ground up to do just that -- to deliver audio and video to remote locations with unprecedented reliability, quality, and simplicity. And it uses the public internet. LAO can also stream to in-house venues on your network while reaching out to campus sites via the public internet.

The platform uses a new patented method of streaming which ensures zero content loss throughout the entire transmission path, even in the case of a complete internet outage! This means that you'll enjoy a stress-free playback experience which is high quality, interruption-free, and much more affordable than other similar solutions.

Before joining the Multisite Platform, many of Living As One’s customers were frustrated with interruptions they experienced during live video playback. Even though those churches chose expensive equipment and fast internet connections, the products they were using were not designed to account for the unpredictable nature of the internet which results in buffering video and even complete blackouts. That tension is not good for anyone - tech teams, campus pastors or your guests.

Over 70 churches have joined onto the platform in the past year of offering the solution to the public. Read what some of them have to say.

Proper color display plays a vital role in the successful implemenation of projectors and screens in spaces with high amounts of ambient light, so don’t sacrifice color accuracy when it comes to ambient light rejecting (ALR) projection screens.

Many ALR projection screens on the market today play with color balance in order to keep as much light as possible away from the eyes of the viewer. This creates an image that doesn’t look quite right, although it’s hard to say why, at least until you do a side-by-side comparison with a screen that is reflecting colors accurately. Then you notice how blue the typical ALR screen image is.

People depend on correct colors not only to visualize, but also to understand. Our ability to see in color allows us to sense emotion or to see health on the skin of others. Getting the wrong color signal might lead us to misread an enemy’s intentions or to be exposed to unwanted illness. Color balance can even mean the difference between right or wrong diagnoses using a microscope in the lab.

In nature, showing off the correct color warns possible predators that a South American arrow poison frog isn’t a good idea for dinner. Being the right color to blend in with tree branches gets the mantis its insect meals. And if a male peacock’s tail feathers are bright and colorful, females know he’s healthy.

Draper was the first screen manufacturer to make ALR screens that are certified by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) for color accuracy. All of its ALR screens have this certification, which means they have no impact on the image color.

When used in conjunction with an ISF-certified (or correctly calibrated) projector, the colors you see appear as they are meant to be, so you can have confidence that no matter how critical the situation, there won’t be any mistakes due to bad color balance.

If you'd like more information on ALR screens and have questions about your projection environment, please call us at 800-747-7301.

Good news! Roland has released free firmware and software upgrades for the V-1SDI 3G SDI Video Switcher and the Roland VR-4HD all-in-one streaming switcher.

The new 1.5 firmware updates supports capturing a still image from the V-1SDI & VR-4HD RCS software for Windows or Mac, plus support for 1/3 size PinP window in addition to the 1/2 and 1/4 sizes currently available.

The combination of the new RCS Software and Firmware updates adds powerful titling creation, image capture, and keying capabilities for live production. The new RCS Software 1.5 for Win/Mac features new titling creation function with graphic import, sizing, and text generation that can be created on a keyed background color and then exported to V-1SDI or VR-4HD running version 1.5 firmware. The image, graphic or combination is then captured in the newly added STILL function in the switcher. Keep in mind that it stores it in volatile memory so be sure to save your graphic/image/text content in the RSC software so you can reload it from the RCS Software when you boot up the switcher. Once it is loaded in the switchers you can unplug the USB cable so it doesn’t have to be connected during operation.

]]>Dave HornThu, 13 Apr 2017 13:53:42 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/still-capture-a-pnp-size-is-now-available-for-roland-v-1sdi-and-vr-4hd-switchers.htmlThe best $100 investment you can make in your sound system for this weekendhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/the-best-100-investment-you-can-make-in-your-sound-system-for-this-weekend.html

On Friday, we sent you an email that talked briefly about how the earset microphone changed the audio world for the better. Today, we'd like to answer some questions and follow up on that message.

About five years ago we wrote an article calling the earset microphone (originally released by Countryman Associates in about 2001) one of the "three best things that you can do for your sound system". And over the last few years, we've been affirmed over and over by others in national media who agree.

Why is the earset microphone significant and and why do you need one? And even if you already have one, what makes it so effective?

Here's a simple test. Next time you are using a lapel microphone or an earset microphone, move the microphone capsule itself from wherever you have it (corner of mouth or shirt) to the other (shirt or corner of mouth) while continuing to talk and see what happens.

When you move a lapel microphone to the corner of the mouth from the shirt without changing gain, the acoustical volume that you hear gets much louder (about twice as loud), and when you move the earset away from the mouth to the center of your chest, the opposite happens (the volume drops by about half).

That close microphone position is a sound technician's friend. The quality of sound is much more consistent from an earset than from a lapel since the microphone follows the wearer and maintains a distance from the mouth that does not change. And that position requires much less gain to achieve the same acoustical volume so the system remains more stable.

So if you're tired of inconsistent performance from your lapel microphone or just need to freshen up what you have, let us know. There's still time before this weekend to get what you need.

Some of the step-up options options offer unbreakable, flexible booms, secure dual-ear mounting and a waterproof assembly. Get more information on the Point Source Audio CO Series earsets here. And please call us if you need more information or have questions.

]]>Dave HornMon, 10 Apr 2017 13:01:26 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/the-best-100-investment-you-can-make-in-your-sound-system-for-this-weekend.htmlSave 100% on a digital snake now through June 30thhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/News/save-100-on-a-digital-snake-now-through-june-30th.html

We've grown to expect more of a good thing, so we were not surprised to find out today that the Allen & Heath BOGO promotion had been extended through June 30, 2017!

This is a pretty simple deal on a new digital console. Buy an Allen & Heath GLD-80 or GLD-112 Chrome Edition and get one AR2-2412 digital snake module FREE with the purchase.

If you view the wall at any closer than about 13', the picture will appear to be very grainy. The reason for this is that LED wall panels have relative low native resolution (a half-meter panel with 3.91 pixel pitch uses just 128x128 pixels), and it takes several individual panels to create a presentation display like you'd see in an auditorium or church. A 4x7 grid of these panels will create an 80x139" display (about the same size as a 12' projection screen). That display will have a native resolution of 896x512 pixels.

I hope that helps you understand a bit more about minimum viewing distance. If you have questions about LED video walls and whether they're a good fit for your application, please call us at 800-747-7301.

]]>Dave HornWed, 22 Feb 2017 14:37:55 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/led-wall-minimum-viewing-distance-a-quick-calculator.htmlFCC Auction - more news on wireless microphones of the future. http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/fcc-auction-more-news-on-wireless-microphones-of-the-future.html
The FCC has just completed another round of auctions, selling off more of the wireless spectrum that we use for wireless microphones. The short story is that your wireless microphones that operate between 617-698MHz will be phased out at some point starting after 39 months from today. And you will have to replace them.

In 2010, we went through this with you and our goal is to keep you as prepared as possible for what comes next. So here is some news from the Shure website, with a closing paragraph from us.

--

January-February 2017 -- Forward Auction Stage 4 - Wireless telecom companies bid on the spectrum. Stage 4 of the forward auction has raised enough money to meet the minimum requirements to be declared successful. Thus, we now know that 84 MHz, from 614 MHz through 698 MHz, of spectrum will be reallocated. Stage 4 of the forward auction raised $19.63 billion.

]]>Dave HornFri, 17 Feb 2017 14:13:50 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/fcc-auction-more-news-on-wireless-microphones-of-the-future.htmlThe making of a microphone - a video. http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/the-making-of-a-microphone-a-video.html
We use microphones, we sell microphones, we recommend microphones. I tend to forget all that goes into the making of a good microphone.

This video blew me away. It reminded me that we all have a God-given creative nature that expresses itself in many different ways from music, to engineering, to machinery, and marketing. People design and make the tools we use. Enjoy!

]]>Dave HornWed, 08 Feb 2017 11:14:55 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/the-making-of-a-microphone-a-video.htmlWe sell solutions!http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/we-sell-solutions.html
Half of all churches we talk with need some sort of upgrade to their audio, video, lighting or projection systems. How to make those upgrades and new systems happen effectively, on time and on budget is an everyday conversation for us.

In the last 25 years, we've learned a lot. Our experience has taught us what works, and what doesn't.

We know how to help you select new projectors and screens. We can help you evaluate a conversion to LED lighting. We can explain why more speakers is rarely a better solution. We we know what makes a wireless microphone drop out, and can help you fix yours. We can help you make sense of acoustics and a little bit of physics. We can help you get HD video around your building and around the world. We have helped people like you navigate wireless microphones, in-ear monitors, and wi-fi. We know what it's like to to come to the end of a project and to have to make strategic budget cuts. We can tell you where you're notice the most impact for each dollar spent. And we've guided hundreds of churches through self-installation projects.

If you have a project in mind (or in progress) and need some ideas, call us. We're glad to offer a Free System Design Review.

(While I'm thinking about it, make sure to sign up for our email list in the upper part of the left navigation bar. Once or twice a month, we feature new products, special deals and relevant articles. We promise that we won't load up your email box and you can unsubscribe at any time.)

So what role can we play for you?

Our clients come in all sizes. Most range from 150-500 weekend attenders with a single campus and one or two staff people. Some are as large as small cities with 5-figure weekend attendance and multiple venues and/or sites. Even some of the smaller churches we work with are reaching out to nearby towns, their other campuses and to the world with video streaming. We enjoy helping churches fulfill their mission.

To the solo pastor or worship staff person, we're often his or her tech director. To the tech director or weekend volunteer, we hope to be a trusted resource and a source of ideas when it comes to solutions. For some clients, we help with project planning and with long-term equipment standardization plans.

The way we hope to be different from other dealers is that we bring a broad level of knowledge and a curious spirit to the audio, video, and lighting equation.

Anyone can ship you a microphone, or a projector, but few thrive on helping you discover new products and can help you know what to expect when a new product is integrated into an existing system.

Since we talk with lots of people, it's not unusual for us to know someone who has been right where you are. The issues of product selection, proper integration of equipment, and problem solving aren't unique to you, and we're happy to help you connect with others.

Our website will never be as deep with products as larger companies (and a new version of the site is coming soon), but if you don't see it, there's a very good chance that we sell it.

But we're not a typical online company, at all. We work hard to answer every phone call live. And the guys answering the phones have managed installation projects, pulled wire, terminated cables, flown speakers, designed systems, and helped people just like you to make technology work.

Whether you need help with a solution and don't know quite where to start, or if you simply need another resource for products and ideas, please call us anytime.

Some of the things we like – earsets from DPA, Countryman, and Que Audio; speakers from Electro-Voice, JBL, Community and Danley Sound Labs; microphones from Heil, Audix, Earthworks, or Sennheiser; digital mixers from Midas, Roland, Presonus, Digico, Soundcraft, and Behringer; analog mixers from Allen & Heath, Soundcraft, and Mackie; video gear from BlackMagic Design, Kramer, AJA, Softron, Livestream, Marshall, Roland, and FSR; personal mixing systems from Elite Core, Roland, Allen & Heath and Aviom; in-ears from Shure, Audio-Technica and Westone; DI's from Radial, BSS, and Rapco; cables from Whirlwind, Rapco and CBI; stands from K&M and Ultimate Support; projectors from Panasonic, Eiki, Hitachi, Christie, Vivitek and Barco; cameras from Sony, Panasonic and BlackMagic Design; accessories from Chief, Peerless, Ansmann, Clearsonic, Middle Atlantic and Raxxess; screens from Da-Lite, Draper, and Screen Innovations; recorder/players from Tascam, Denon and Marantz; processing from DBX, Symetrix, BSS, and Biamp; wireless systems from Audio-Technica, Shure, Line 6 and Sennheiser; lighting from Elation, Chroma-Q, Leviton, Chauvet, ETC, Blizzard, and Mega Systems; power management from Furman, SurgeX and Lyntec; and amplifiers from Crown, QSC and Lab Gruppen. There are plenty more, but that'll give you an idea of who we are.

We're based in Columbus, Ohio and work with people from all over the country. We occasionally send something to Japan, Canada, Europe, Africa or Australia, too. And we're as likely to get a call from a church in Orange County, California as we are from Ohio.

We want to be a resource for you. If we look like your kind of company, sign up for our email list or give us a call. (800) 747-7301

Technology for Worship: It's what we do!

]]>Dave HornThu, 29 Dec 2016 20:50:18 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/we-sell-solutions.htmlSpring Hills Baptist Churchhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Testimonials/spring-hills-baptist-church.html
I had consulted with some of the AVL Integrators whose ads had crossed my email/online path. The scope they were used to, including the cost, kept me searching. I talked with some integrators who wanted thousands (tens of thousands in some cases) of dollars to produce the initial design for our upgrades, and then would start the search for bids on that design. I kept searching. I was looking for someone who would be able to work with a church our size (1,000-1,200 in attendance per weekend total in 4 services), brainstorm with me on a design plan, and then walk through the priorities/cost maze that would likely present itself.

Then I remembered a voicemail I had received from Dave Horn of Truth Seeker Productions. When I listened to his voicemail, and then found out through other means that he had done significant work with a sister church of ours in Columbus, I had the feeling...that's right...the feeling that this was the guy to help us. So I called him, we met, and the path forward that he suggested was a very comfortable one for me, and the rest is history.

We are very satisfied with the projection upgrades in our worship center and fireside room (a total of 7 laser projectors), the larger, 16 X 9 screens everywhere, motorized screens where necessary, installation of 2 Allen & Heath digital audio consoles, upgraded LED lighting and controller, and a state of the art video control and routing system, allowing us to utilize IMag and live streaming.

Dave Horn and the Team at Truth Seeker are knowledgeable and up to date about all things AVL; good listeners, strategists, installers, and trainers. And, great service, even after the final check was paid!

They know how to work with Houses of Worship, "budgets," and how to help you make tough decisions. You'll be glad you contracted with them. We are!

]]>Dave HornThu, 29 Dec 2016 19:17:42 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Testimonials/spring-hills-baptist-church.htmlFree System Design Reviewhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/free-system-design-review.html
You've undoubtedly asked yourself, "So what exactly does that mean? Free System Design Review. The words were blocked in red in the advertisement, so I just clicked it. And now what?"

What that means is that we're here to help.

If you're in the market for a new audio, video, lighting and/or projection system or upgrade (or are having problems with what you have), let us know.

Do you have a proposal in-hand and aren't quite sure what to think of it? We'll look it over and tell you what we think.

Do you have questions about wireless microphones, HD video distribution for production and presentation, or on how to improve audio coverage on your auditorium? These are things that we work with every day, and we'd be glad to provide some ideas.

Do you have questions about video streaming, laser projectors, multi-site systems, or wonder about next steps as your church grows? We've worked with one of our church clients from its start with 20 people to about 5000 weekend attendance today, and we can help with system design and equipment standardization.

Sometimes, you just need one more set of eyes (or ears) to solve a problem or to get confirmation of what you're already thinking.

We're celebrating our 25th year in 2017, so we've seen a lot, and we've learned a lot. If you think that our experience might be helpful to you, call us at (800) 747-7301. Or you can send us some photos, a video, an audio recording, take us on a Facetime tour, or email us at gtsales@geartechs.com.

With the expanding use of DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software to enhance live worship, whether self-produced or purchased from a third party such as Loop Community and other providers, we see an increasing need for tools that speed up your workflow.

The Behringer X-Touch is both a highly visual, intuitive, surface controller with 100mm moving faders, and also serves as a remote surface for any Behringer digital mixer up to and including the popular X32.

Here's how I use mine:

Home Studio aka as "The Living Room" (No, I'm not married.)

The X-Touch gives me complete control of Logic X running on a Mac. It performs all the critical, repetitive functions quickly without having to navigate a mouse around a large screen. More detailed functions like EQ adjustment, and fine tuning effects can be performed on the X-Touch, but I still prefer to drag EQ filters with a mouse and to manage plug-ins directly on-screen, although it's nice to know that I can make a quick adjustment on the controller with its function and value labeled on the backlit scribble strip.

If you're like me, one of your favorite things to do is memorize complicated keyboard shortcuts. Well, maybe not. Thankfully, the team at Behringer gives us clearly labeled buttons and knobs for all of the fixed functions, and backlit labels that change according to the function. This makes the X-Touch easy to navigate at a glance.

I also appreciate the large transport control buttons and jog wheel. In a short amount of time, I found that I didn't even need to look at the X-Touch. My fingers find those buttons on their own.

The jog wheel makes it simple to put my playhead right where I want it, alleviating one of the frustrations of every DAW I've ever used. On-screen timeline rulers are small and require precise mouse movement. For the number of times each session that I have to grab that mouse, the time savings add up quickly.

The biggest time saver for me is the ability to mix down multiple tracks at once. Even with some purchased tracks, certain sounds and parts cut through the mix better in different environments and within different sections of a song.

]]>Dave HornFri, 16 Dec 2016 15:32:43 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/behringer-x-touch.htmlBlock 96% of ambient light, without covering the windowshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/block-96-of-ambient-light-without-covering-the-windows.html
We could spend all day telling you about how Da-Lite Parallax screens block over 95% of ambient light from windows and and other light sources. We could describe how it maintains a bright, vibrant image even when a room is filled with natural light. We could thoroughly explain how it offers extremely wide viewing angles, with no speckle or glare. But we'd rather show you.

After all, seeing is believing. That's why Da-Lite created a video to show you the difference.

As you can see, the difference is striking. That's why if you have a brightly lit room, Parallax is the best screen choice for your project. Please call us for more information on this amazing new screen technology.

Audio guys are taught to fear and loath feedback. We have parametric EQs, notch filters, magic boxes and feedback eliminators, all to keep feedback from rearing it's ugly head. The mix could be great, the lighting perfect and the song words spot on, but if the pastor's mic runs into feedback, you feel like you've failed. For most of us feedback=bad.

But Is It?

The feedback of which I speak in the opening paragraph is of course, the electro-acoustical kind. The mic picks up it's own signal, it goes through the amplification loop and repeats, ending in a high-pitched scream. And I agree, that kind of feedback is bad. But not all feedback is. In fact, sometimes, feedback can be very helpful.

Getting Better All The Time

Any sound engineer worth his salt should be striving to get better all the time. But how do we get better? How do we know if we're making progress or just making things louder? One really good way to get better is to get some feedback. By asking others to critique our mix, we will learn valuable insights and hopefully, get better. The challenge is, we're so trained to avoid feedback (the bad kind), that we tend to avoid all feedback (the good kind).

Now, it can be humbling to ask for feedback. I've done this in the past, and sometimes go home feeling less good about my skill level. However, after the sting wears off, and I've processed the feedback, my mixing usually gets better. It's easy to get caught in the trap of thinking we have this thing figured out and continue to do the wrong thing over and over again.

I see this all the time. People speaking authoritatively from a position of ignorance. The internet is awesome for this. Just check out any of the online forums or groups. And pick a topic - any topic. I of course see this in church tech groups, but it exists everywhere. I also see it in every day life. I'll hear someone make a fairly definitive statement that obviously comes from a place of no knowledge or background. But boy, are they convinced they're right. My mom used to have a magnet on the fridge that said, "My mind is made up - don't confuse me with the facts."

What does this have to do with being a technical leader in church? Quite a lot, actually. I've removed a large amount of equipment from various churches over the years, and I'm sure it was all installed confidently. That is, whoever installed it was confident in their choice. Even if that choice was not based in any kind of knowledge or experience. Even if it didn't work. At all. That wastes a lot of money and undermines trust in our profession.

Mr. Know-It-All

Why does this happen? Well, I think there is an unnecessarily engrained concept in most of us that we have to be right all the time. And we have to know everything about our jobs. Now, the truth is, it's impossible to know everything about a subject. And if you ask people that have been doing a particular thing for a long time, they will likely tell you that the longer they do it, the more they realize they don't know.

]]>Dave HornFri, 18 Nov 2016 13:24:10 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/i-dont-know.html&quot;Do you mean to tell me that no one makes...?&quot;http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/qdo-you-mean-to-tell-me-that-no-one-makes-aq.html
It's the company joke that a couple of our clients have very unique feature requests, and that they ask this exact question from time to time. "Do you mean to tell me that no one makes a [fill in the blank]?"

In the discovery phase of video system planning, we ask lots of questions. We find that some churches are concerned more about presentation of computer graphics (still images and motion backgrounds, along with file-based video), and others are focused on having live video as the primary source. Choosing one or the other makes it easier on us, but the more common answer is that our clients want both.

If you're using live video (cameras) for a typical event like a worship service, you have two audiences – the people who attend live, and the people who do not. And if you think about it, the needs of each group are very different. The live audience may not need to see the faces of those leading the event, but the audience watching your video stream or recording certainly does. How will you allow both to only see what they need to see?

]]>Dave HornWed, 16 Nov 2016 09:59:57 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/qdo-you-mean-to-tell-me-that-no-one-makes-aq.htmlDo you really want your historic auditorium or worship space to look like a concert venue?http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/do-you-really-want-your-historic-auditorium-or-worship-space-to-look-like-a-concert-venue.html
To us, there's not a lot worse than cluttering up a traditional or historic auditorium with obvious technology, so when Da-Lite introduced its Wireline Advantage last March, we were thrilled. Many large venues feature beautiful architecture that you just don't want to cover up with a screen; but what happens when you want to project content onto large screens to enhance the event experience?

Luckily, with the Wireline Advantage, you don't have to compromise. The innovative design actually enhances the architecture of the room instead of hiding it like other screens.

How exactly does it do that? The Wireline Advantage uses thin steel cables instead of black drop (extra fabric) to lower the screen to the appropriate height. This almost invisibly suspends the viewing area – and only the viewing area – at the correct height for the audience. The screen housing also can be easily recessed above the ceiling.

The result: an installation that leaves the architecture of the room exposed for stunning results. See our previous article with photos here.

This week, Da-Lite announced that the Wireline Advantage was now available in a new 10' size, so we have even more options for designing the perfect space for you. Please let us know if you have questions and/or need more information.

]]>Dave HornWed, 16 Nov 2016 09:20:21 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/do-you-really-want-your-historic-auditorium-or-worship-space-to-look-like-a-concert-venue.htmlHitachi Projectors - Get a FREE lamp with purchase!http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/hitachi-projectors-get-a-free-lamp-with-purchase.html
Looking for a reason to buy a new projector sooner than later? We have one for you. Between now and December 31, 2016, purchase any of the following projectors and receive a receive a complimentary replacement lamp. Take a look here for more information on Hitachi projectors. Make sure to call us for our best price on these machines, since we are very restricted on what we're allowed to advertise. And don't forget that since we are part of the Hitachi Select Dealer program that you will also receive an extra year of warranty (total of four years) at no additional charge on select models. Please call us with questions.

Promotion Offer: Purchase qualifying products during the program dates and register your product by January 31, 2017 to receive a complimentary replacement lamp per model.

BEHRINGER has released a much-anticipated X32 Firmware and Application Software Update V 3.0, consolidating the new versions of the X32-Edit (PC/Mac/Linux/RPi) and X32-Mix (iPad) remote control apps, bringing major performance enhancements to the X32 operating system. Most notable are: the new Automixing option; support for the new X32-EDIT 3.0 remote control application; networked and MIDI remote control directly from X-TOUCH control surfaces; and output phase inversion on all outputs, Aux outs and Ultranet channels. Also included are X-Over filter options for the Main LR and Mono/Center bus EQs.

BEHRINGER X32 Auto mix

The automatic mixer algorithm, provides more gain to the main speaker, while other open mics are attenuated. The use of this Dugan-style gain sharing ensures a low background noise floor – without any gating/ducking artifacts.

X32-Edit App

The new X32-Edit app features a redesigned and scalable user interface, optimized for touch-control; automixing; configurable fader layers; floating FX windows; and much more. The X32-Mix iPad app has also received an update to support Version 3.0 firmware.

X-Touch Integration

Complete integration of X-TOUCH controllers provides a new hardware control option for all X32 users, particularly suitable for X32-RACK and X32-CORE.Constant Improvement

“We are constantly adding new features to the X32’s extremely stable eco-system, providing the best possible feature set and performance– the X32 just keeps getting better!” commented MUSIC Conception Senior Engineer Jan Duwe.

]]>Dave HornThu, 08 Sep 2016 12:33:07 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/behringer-x32-30-firmware-and-application-software-now-available.htmlChoir mic shootout - Heil PR30 versus Beyerdynamic MC930, Neumann KM185, and Lewitt LCT340http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/choir-mic-shootout-heil-pr30-versus-beyerdynamic-mc930-neumann-km185-and-lewitt-lct340.html
In order to get a great choir sound in modern worship, you need a microphone with exceptional isolation, great uniformity of the polar or pickup pattern across its frequency response, and to be able to preserve enough warmth to make voices sound natural, without feedback. And if you're a choir director, you know this is a tall order. There's always too much of something being picked up (besides the choir) - the drum kit, the orchestra, the bass amp, you name it. You just never have enough of the voices.

In early April, we were contacted by a church in Huntsville, AL with a little bit of a challenge. The choir director had read our article about the Heil PR30 and its effectiveness for choir use and wanted to put it up against some big names in the microphone business. Beyerdynamic (MC930), Neumann (KM185), and Lewitt (LCT340). We talked with him for a few minutes and decided that we were up for the challenge, albeit with a sliver of trepidation. I mean, all of those microphones cost at least double of the PR30. So we sent him four microphones to try, and waited for his report.

Here's what he said. (click the link below for the rest of the story - hint: it's what you think it is, but I'll let his words tell the story)

]]>Dave HornFri, 27 May 2016 12:47:16 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/choir-mic-shootout-heil-pr30-versus-beyerdynamic-mc930-neumann-km185-and-lewitt-lct340.htmlIf you own a wireless microphone, you need to read this. http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/if-you-own-a-wireless-microphone-you-need-to-read-this.html
Last week, the FCC released the date and details of both the start of spectrum incentive auctions and changes to the RF spectrum that will remain available for wireless microphones.

With the ever-greater use of mobile broadband and the internet-of-things, the demand for RF bandwidth is immense, so television broadcasters are being asked to relocate and vacate, and secondary users like wireless microphones, wireless intercoms, and in-ear monitoring systems will be forced out, too.

The start of the auctions will be May 31, 2016. While details are not yet fully known, it appears that wireless microphone users will have 126MHz less RF spectrum available and that use of frequencies above 566MHz will become obsolete (and illegal) at some point.

When users will be required to vacate the use of frequencies above 566MHz is not yet known, but in previous announcements, the time period of 42 months has been mentioned. From this point forward, you will begin to see a transition to new technology, the reuse of the VHF spectrum and placement of microphones in the 900MHz and 2.4GHz portions of the RF spectrum.

The primary takeaway from this announcement is that you should avoid purchasing wireless systems with operating ranges between 566-700MHz, if you plan to use them for more than a few years.

If you have questions about how this impacts your set-up, or if we can help with planning during this time of transition, please be in touch. And of course, we will keep you informed as we learn more.

When we're asked to install a traditional projection screen in a room with soaring ceilings, elaborate stone work, a cross, and/or other architectural elements, it's often a challenge to place the screen at the appropriate viewing height without covering something up. The way around getting the projection surface into the right location without having an exposed screen roller (or obscured aesthetic and design elements) requires what's called extra black drop. Black drop is essentially an extended fabric border (above the projection surface) that can be several feet tall. That extra fabric allows us to install the screen in such a way that roller itself is not seen, but adding the extra fabric usually requires some sort of visual sacrifice.

Having screens manufactured with extra black drop is a good solution in many cases, but the new Wireline Advantage from Da-Lite has changed the way we look at new projects. The Wireline Advantage uses thin steel cables up to 29 feet long, instead of black drop, to lower the screen surface to an appropriate viewing height, while hiding the roller enclosure. The result is a large display that is almost invisibly suspended at the right viewing height, leaving the architecture of the room right where you want it - in plain sight.

The Wireline Advantage is designed for larger venues, and is a unique solution that will allow you to appreciate both your technology and your architecture.

Please call us if you have questions about integrating the Wireline Advantage into your next project or upgrade.

]]>Dave HornThu, 24 Mar 2016 16:46:15 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/a-projection-screen-to-enhance-the-architecture-not-hide-it.htmlBerklee Standardizes on Point Source CR-8D Earset Microphonehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/News/berklee-standardizes-on-point-source-cr-8d-earset-microphone.html
SERIES8 mics expected to support up to 300 student-run productions each year

Student actors of Berklee College of Music perform wearing Point Source Audio's SERIES8 cardioid headset (Photo Credit: Berklee College of Music)

Berklee College of Music - home to more than 4,000 students and a list of successful alumni who have collectively won more than 300 GRAMMYs and Emmy Awards - has standardized on Point Source Audio's SERIES8 cardioid headsets as their musical production microphone.

The Point Source mics debuted for the school's Berklee Performance Center Anniversary Concert: 100 Years of Musical Theater with a cast of 20 wearing the CR-8D headset.

"After doing our tests, we found the CR-8D to give the least coloration and the highest gain before feedback. I've used many other headset brands but by the time I completed tuning all of the rings out, the signal would be completely unrecognizable as a human voice. With the CR-8D headsets, the sound is much more natural after feedback corrections," reported Alejo Planchart, production manager in concert operations for Berklee. "The exact placement near the mouth of the singer was the most forgiving out of all the headsets I've used before and the noise handling was very minimal, which are two very crucial factors when working with student singers."

Responsible for over 2,200 events each year in six different performance venues, the production and theater staff at Berklee sought to find a robust headset microphone that could also deliver a highly directional pattern because many of their productions require floor monitors where feedback tends to be a major issue.

Berklee has many student-run productions and beginner students are still learning proper microphone placement so it was very important for Berklee to find a headset that would stay in place throughout numerous costume changes.

We find Point Source microphones to be an excellent choice for live speaking, singing and drama use, especially where floor monitors are in use. Find more information and/or order your own CR-8D headsets here. From $499.

]]>Dave HornMon, 29 Feb 2016 12:32:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/berklee-standardizes-on-point-source-cr-8d-earset-microphone.htmlCan you help us with our sound system? http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/can-you-help-us-with-our-sound-system.html
"Dave, can you come to Sioux Falls to help us with our sound system?"

Prior to that call, we had worked together with the Ransom Church for some add-on products and accessories, but the new tech director wanted to talk with us about systems, so that we'd have a better understand of their needs as the church grew.

A couple weeks later, I boarded a plane to Sioux Falls, SD. From the cool vibe of the concrete-floored welcome area, I walked into the back door of the worship space where the tech director explained that weekend attendance was growing (from 300 to 1400 in under a year) and that the tech systems were straining under the load.

As he walked me around, I saw a lighting system that was well done, along with the audio and the video systems – both of which were recently installed.

Frankly, I wondered why I was there.

After a few minutes, I asked what types of issues they had and if I could hear the system. In a nutshell, the church had plenty of equipment, but the audio system did not sound good.

The space was loft-like in nature, having been an old auto parts warehouse. The wood trusses acted like a low ceiling, and the worship space was very wide, so acoustic volume was high near the platform, but didn't carry well toward the back, corner and side seating areas. See "before" coverage map below. The difference between yellow and purple areas is about 10dB, an apparent halving of acoustic volume.

As we discovered, the previous choice of main speakers was not poor equipment, but simply the wrong equipment.

]]>Dave HornMon, 15 Feb 2016 13:53:07 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/can-you-help-us-with-our-sound-system.htmlThe installation is over - what about training?http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/the-installation-is-over-what-about-training.html
The building is finished, the sound system is installed, the training session has ended, and the tail lights of the system installer are fading in the distance. What's next?! A well-deserved break for everyone!

Over and over we find churches in what will become a predicament pretty quickly if training is not addressed. With the upgrade, the church now needs 3-4 tech volunteers (or more) where it needed one or two before, and some of those people who just finished the training session have never even seen a mixer or a switcher before, and have little to no idea of how everything works together. They all seemed to understand, none of them had any more questions for the trainer when he asked, but many of your team members went home overwhelmed and under-prepared. And the weekend is coming.

For budget reasons, churches often opt out of ongoing training, but making the best use of the new equipment requires that people know how and why they're doing what they're doing. Recently, we've come across a new video curriculum called the Ultimate Live Sound School DVD Set. It's a DVD-based curriculum taught by David Wills, a professional touring engineer who has worked with lots of top music acts over the past several years. These videos allow you to look over the shoulder of a professional audio engineer who has worked with the top names in the business.

The Free Church Sound Training is an introduction to the more detailed Ultimate Live Sound School DVD Set. A couple of us have started using this DVD set and the more detailed training videos for the Presonus Studio Live and Behringer X32 in our own churches and find the videos to be a powerful resource for both group and for individual training. For more info on the Ultimate Live Sound School DVD click here.

Unfortunately, we often find churches are not able to equip volunteers for success on their own so they experience lots of volunteer turnover. The Ultimate Live Sound School DVD set will allow you to spread the knowledge of proper audio system operation to the team in a way that is well-presented, non-threatening and that comes with the benefit of the teacher being an outside expert.

Right now, the Ultimate Live Sound School is priced at $50 off the normal $199.95 price at just $149.95. The Ultimate Live Sound School contains over 6 hours of training, plus bonus sessions, that your team can refer to as often as necessary and share among themselves. Click here to order the Ultimate Live Sound School DVD set now.

When designing a sound system, physics still applies, no matter how hard I might wish that it wouldn't. Many venues that we work in have low ceilings and comparatively far distances to the last row of the seating area. Think of the typical 1970's Nazarene church -- long and low, and it could be built inexpensively with standard wood trusses and asphalt shingles. 60' from front to back, 10' side wall height, 14' roof peak.

The Inverse Square Law says that sound pressure level (SPL) or acoustic volume drops 6 decibels (dB) every time you double the distance from the sound source. If we measure 94dB at four meters from the speaker, the SPL will be 88dB at eight meters, 82dB at 16 meters, 76 dB at 32 meters, etc.

When designing systems, if we're asked, what we hope to find is a room that's about twice as deep as the ceiling is high. In that type of space we can keep the SPL difference to about 3-4dB over the seating area with conventional speakers. Note that in the example above, there's a 12dB difference for the person sitting 13.2' from the speaker and the person sitting 52.8' away. That's why the 1970's Nazarene church style building is a tough place to install a sound system, and to do it well (not to mention inexpensively). That difference is 12dB represents more than a 50% apparent reduction in acoustical volume.

That halving of volume is not a big deal, if you want people to be able to sit in relative audio comfort at the back of the room, but more often than not, the audio technician (who typically sits in a corner in the very back of the room) adjusts the SPL to his taste making the acoustic volume much louder (read as "too loud") up nearer the platform or stage.

Unfortunately, system performance is close to the last thing that many churches and other performance venues discuss prior to design and eventual construction.

The grind of weekly set-up and tear-down will consume your volunteers, unless you give them the tools they need. It's that simple.

Virtually all churches we work with, especially those that are mobile, struggle with the same issues. Whether it's developing skilled sound and video operators before their families "want them back", having the time and resources to develop skilled people at all, or just the drain of getting started at 5:30AM for the 8:00 service and striking it all after lunch, keeping weekend production teams going forward is a tough job.

Let's make it easier!

What's the most thankless job on the weekend services production crew? Cable taper - hands down. Especially if your church sets up and tears down every week, your crew spends a lot of time on its hands and knees with rolls of gaffer's tape (that's often the wrong width) measuring out a couple arm's lengths and ripping it with their teeth, while trying to keep the lines straight.

And we ask why our volunteers don't stick around.

What if we could help you make taping cables the job that people wanted to do?

Happy tapers stick around to learn other tasks, feel more productive and spend less time crawling around on the floor. And really, who wants to crawl around on the floor?

The GaffGun from Gafftech might well be your best-ever investment in volunteer retention and growth. Imagine 10 minutes of taping being reduced to a minute. Take a look at the video below.

One of our system designers is working on an article entitled "How Loud is Loud Enough?". It will be published in the next week or two.

We find, especially in smaller churches with contemporary worship, that the battle between what we'll call stage volume and overall volume in the house is often an issue. Instrumentalists need more volume in order to feel their instrument or to get the best tone from their amplifier. And there's truth to that. And that need for volume drives listening sound pressure levels higher than they need to be for worshippers. It's a very real conflict in smaller rooms.

In order to get that full tone, many musicians build or buy isolation boxes for their amps and/or place the amps in another room so that they can get the tone they want and to not overpower the house sound system. There's an easier way, and a less expensive way.

The Radial Headload is a combination load box and attenuator that handles up to 130 watts RMS of continuous power and peaks of 180 watts. To use the Headload, it gets placed between the amplifier head and the speaker cabinet, allowing the guitar amp to be driven hard while reducing the output level - thus quieting the stage.

The headload utilizes Radial's JDX Reactor direct box which captures the signal from the head plus the reactive load from the speaker cabinet for a more natural tone. The Headload is also equipped with a Radial Phazer – phase adjustment tool. This lets you time-align the JDX direct feed with the microphone to deliver natural tones, or when pushed to extreme, create over the top effects. The JDX direct output may also be tailored to suit with a 6 position voicing switch to select from various cabinet emulation presets and fine tuned using a 2-band EQ to tame overly bright amps.

The Radial Headload V8 (8 Ohm version available now) can be used with or without the guitar speaker cabinet to help you get the precise balance of tone and volume that you need. $899. It might just be the product that allows everyone to have what they need.

]]>Dave HornTue, 25 Aug 2015 10:56:52 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/tone-versus-stage-volume-an-epic-battle-and-an-easy-way-to-solve-it.htmlSneak Peak - Bose F1 Flexible Array Loudspeakerhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/sneak-peak-bose-f1-flexible-array-loudspeaker.html
There's been a lot of buzz around portable PA the past few years, thanks mostly to power amplifiers becoming smaller and lighter. The idea behind portable is that you can take it anywhere, the downside of which is that all performance venues are not alike -- so the decision of what to buy has always been a question of what's the best fit for most situations.

The engineers at Bose have come up with a solution to speaker systems easy to understand (and even easier to implement) for small to medium-sized venues. A few months ago, we got to look at, and listen to, the new Bose F1 Flexible Line Array system, and here's what we thought after our initial demo.

Four speakers in one box! With a simple push or pull to the top or bottom of the speaker array, it was easy to reconfigure the elements to cover a wide variety of rooms vertically. Take a look at the images below to see what we mean.

With the speaker position in J configuration we were immediately able to cover the front rows with the speakers above the listener's heads on a platform or stage. The effect was immediately noticeable as the elements were manipulated. The "C" configuration could cover a small hall or church with a stage and a balcony while the reverse "J" configuration nicely covers a room with no platform and a raked floor or balcony where some of the listeners ears are position higher than the speakers. Straight allows you to keep from bouncing sound off the ceilings when not needed. Pattern control is a beautiful thing.

]]>Dave HornMon, 24 Aug 2015 13:03:18 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/sneak-peak-bose-f1-flexible-array-loudspeaker.htmlShure announces ULX-D Digital Wireless in 900MHz bandhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/News/shure-announces-ulx-d-digital-wireless-in-900mhz-band.html
With the proliferation of wireless phones and connected tablets and computers, "wi-fi everywhere", and shifts in how the FCC allocates parts of the wireless spectrum, the predictable use of wireless microphones is tougher than it used to be.

With that, Shure is pleased to announce that the ULX-D Digital Wireless is now available in the 900 MHz ISM frequency band. This range of the wireless spectrum is reserved internationally for radio frequencies used by Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) industries, so it should remain unaffected by the issues that surround the use of the 500-800MHz portion of the radio frequency spectrum shared with broadcast video and/or wireless broadband devices.

The ULX-D Digital Wireless is targeted for use where traditional UHF "TV band" spectrum is limited or not ideal, and the ULX-D 900 MHz features components and accessories are optimized for use within regional variations of the 902-928 MHz spectrum. For more information about how we can help you to successfully integrate wireless into your facility, please call us anytime at 800-747-7301.

]]>Dave HornTue, 04 Aug 2015 09:26:37 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/shure-announces-ulx-d-digital-wireless-in-900mhz-band.htmlShure is discontinuing more 600MHz wireless systems.http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/shure-is-discontinuing-more-600mhz-wireless-systems.html
As we've been warning for over a year, it's time to stop buying 600MHz wireless microphone and personal monitoring systems, unless you have no other choice. Unfortunately, some of you have no other choice due to location, and other systems in use.

At some point in the future, the FCC will issue a statement that will give users 42 months to vacate systems operating in the 600MHz band (approximately 600-699MHz). And at this time, we have not received that notice, which could come next week or in the next few years.

Shure knows what's coming (even if it doesn't know when), and we'd all be wise to follow their lead. Our opinion is that early discontinuations will keep Shure from having to pay large trade-in rebates like they did when the 700MHz range was similarly abandoned in 2010. Please contact us with any questions you have.

]]>Dave HornMon, 01 Jun 2015 16:52:32 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/shure-is-discontinuing-more-600mhz-wireless-systems.htmlMake a big impact for less than $500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/make-a-big-impact-for-less-than-500.html
"We've looked everywhere. Someone must have 'picked up' the wireless microphone." Not the words I wanted to hear five minutes before the service.

Our church hosted the Judson University choir on Sunday. The platform had been cleared, and everything was set up the night before, except our lone handheld wireless microphone. That's the microphone that the choir director requested to allow him the freedom to speak from different places. I couldn't find it during set-up, so I texted a couple people, one of whom said that it was in the pastor's office, so I didn't sweat it. But the next day, we still couldn't find it.

Like many of you, I'm the volunteer media team leader at the church I attend. We work with a fairly limited budget, and it appears that I need a new wireless transmitter. Ugh!

With limited budget money, our purchases have to be spot on.

We get daily questions about how to best utilize specific amounts of money, and the answers to the "how to" questions are particularly critical at amounts under $500.

Get a group of TD's together and it won't take long for the discussion to shift to how busy we all are. We all have a seemingly endless list of projects and tasks that we need to work on, and the pressure we feel (either from internal or external sources) to get them done—preferably right now. I too was one of those TDs. Years ago, I walked into a building that needed every single system updated, upgraded or replaced. In every room in the building. It was a long list. I know many of you are in similar situations. I started thinking that if I worked really hard just for the first few months, I could get it all done. But I came to realize that's simply not possible.

The truth is, the list will never be complete.

That realization can either be frustrating or liberating, depending on how you choose to deal with it.

Idina Menzel is already the voice behind the unofficial anthem of girls between the ages of 4 and 12. And if you don't know what that is, call us and ask. You'll recognize the name, or even look it up on Google. We don't mean to be difficult in an article that's supposed to be informative, but let's just say that the copyright owners of the song are more than a little zealous to ensure copyright enforcement.

On Sunday, February 1, she sang the national anthem in front of 10 million viewers using a Heil RC 35 capsule on a wireless transmitter.

The RC35 has become a favorite upgrade of pro performers of all types. The RC35 fits all Shure and Line 6 handheld wireless systems. If you'd like to try an RC35, give us a call. We'll be happy to send you one for sale or demo, or order online.

There are microphone myths just like there are urban myths. And their longevity rivals Bigfoot, Nessie and that mysterious Roswell incident in 1947.

Right here, right now, we’re setting the record straight on mic folklore that we’ve continued to debunk over the years. Check each one of these off your list, and when the subject comes up (yes, it will come up), you’ll be the expert.

1. There are wireless microphone frequencies that are completely free from interference.

False. This is a myth that is being propagated by some pro audio manufacturers. The fact is there are no frequencies that are completely free from interference because there are no frequencies that are reserved only for wireless microphones. Even if there were, you could still have interference from other wireless microphones occupying that frequency band.

There are no “safe frequencies”. All of the radio spectrum is allocated for different uses by different types of equipment. Every wireless microphone operates in a frequency range that contains other devices. There is no exclusivity in the radio spectrum for wireless microphones.

Our advice: use wireless equipment that is as broadly tunable as possible.

2. Condenser mics are not as rugged as dynamics.

False. In the days when this myth came into existence, condenser microphones were very expensive, studio-grade models. The microphone they were compared to might have been a dynamic like the SM58®. If the ultra-expensive, circa 1930s vacuum tube microphone were dunked into a glass of beer or dropped on the stage ten times, or even one time, it probably would stop working. It will become a paperweight while the SM58 will survive all that.

Today, all of our condenser microphones are engineered to hold up to exactly the same abuse as an SM58. They go through the same exact environmental testing. Drop testing. Temperature testing. Humidity testing. Salt spray testing. Vibration testing. Electromagnetic testing. They have to pass the same battery of tests, and they do.

The SM81 was introduced around 1978 as a studio condenser microphone. But because it is made from a machined steel handle and has the same sort of milspec environmental capability as the rest of our microphones, it was quickly embraced by the touring sound industry. There are SM81s out there on tour today that are probably fifteen or twenty years old. You can drive over them with a truck. Drop them on the floor. Hit them with a drumstick. And the same is true of all our condenser vocal mics.

So, in the modern era, the fragility of Shure condenser microphones is just a myth.

]]>Dave HornFri, 13 Feb 2015 09:22:23 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/top-8-microphone-myths-exposed.htmlDo you believe in coincidence? http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/do-you-believe-in-coincidence.html
At the risk of sounding overdramatic, I don't, and I'm never surprised at the way things work out.

A couple years ago, we got an email from the Ohio sales representative for Electro-voice. He wanted to know if we wanted to buy about 20 discontinued speakers for really deep discount. If no one bought them, they were going into the crusher, literally.

The challenge was that there were one or two of this and that, and four of another, and just one of several. I asked the sales rep we wouldn't want them, and his response was "Exactly!" So we ordered all of them.

The short story is that all but one of those speakers found a home, and we were able to provide them at as much as 90% off regular prices. And I wasn't surprised a bit.

Well. Lighting must strike twice. Toward the end of 2014, the EV rep emailed again. In an email to all of its dealers, the company announced that it was moving warehouses and that it would be liquidating a large portion of its inventory, first come, first served.

Right away, we bought some speakers that we knew we could sell. A couple weeks later, we got another email asking us to "make an offer", so we offered and were able to buy some more at lower prices. Another week or so later, the final list came out. The accompanying message was that anything that was left would either be moved or crushed, and it requested final offers. So we offered lower again.

We've sold some of the half semi-truck that we received and we still have what's listed below. At up to 80% off, I believe that we have exactly what some of you need to finish a project at your budget. We have several of the ETX powered loudspeakers which are the best we've heard in the price range. Other manufacturers may not like that we've proclaimed that, but none have stepped forward for a shootout. We have touring grade monitors for about 80% off, assistive listening transmitters for $199 and more. Click the link below.

These five common concepts and skills separate the skilled audio professional from the beginner.

In our opinion, they are essential to a full understanding and mastery of audio systems.

They are evenly divided between simple overarching concepts that can be applied to any project, and practical skills that can be used to save time and money, or engineer elegant solutions to problems that emerge in the field.

1. How to coil cables right.

Many types of audio-visual cables contain twisted wires inside a sheath. This gives them a natural coil that can easily be disturbed by improper coiling. The wires become tangled inside the sheath, and the natural coil ruined, shortening the cable’s life. Other types of cable, like coaxial cable, have no natural coil. They still benefit from proper handling, which avoids knots, tangles, and crushed insulators.

The right way to coil a cable is by using the “over-under” method, which is better shown than explained. This video from the London School of Sound does an excellent job showing how to coil cables using the over-under technique.

2. How to build cables from scratch.

Many audio cable connector schemes follow a basic blueprint: positive, negative, ground. If you know how to strip and make a connection from raw cable, you can build cables to custom lengths and salvage good portions of damaged cable - which is incredibly useful. Although the specific procedure for soldering a connector varies by type, a soldering station (iron, sponge, solder, helping hands), box cutter, and pliers with wire snips are often all that is required to solder the more common types, like XLR, ¼”, and 3.5mm, during an emergency repair.

]]>Dave HornTue, 02 Dec 2014 16:58:23 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/five-things-every-audio-pro-should-know-how-to-do.htmlFive Wireless Microphone Mistakes That Are as Common as They Are Avoidablehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/five-wireless-microphone-mistakes-that-are-as-common-as-they-are-avoidable.html
by Alex Milne

They’ve happened to the best of us. After paging through stacks of manuals, phoning and perhaps yelling at manufacturer technical support lines, and checking and re-checking dozens of options on menu screens, we discover the cause of our wireless microphone malfunction is something so breathtaking simply, so glaringly obvious, that we can’t believe we didn’t think of it in the first place.

The following five mistakes are blunders shared by inexperienced and experienced audio pros alike. Do not be ashamed.

1. Dead Battery

The lifeblood of the wireless microphone transmitter, the battery, is a fickle creature.

The useable life of a battery is influenced by a number of factors, which makes it hard to pin down just how many hours you’ll get out of a microphone. The type of battery in use, the brand, the temperature, and - the oft-ignored curveball - the transmitter power (20 mW vs 50 mW, etc), can all dramatically change how long your handheld perseveres.

Some people play the russian roulette game of guessing how much juice they’ve got left on a case by case basis. Others invest in a battery tester or multimeter. The most paranoid users (and the wisest) don’t let a mic go up on stage without fresh batteries. This results in a lot of half-used batteries that go in the battery recycling bin, but it is a heck of a lot better than a mic going dead. You can purchase batteries by the case from your favorite audiovisual retailer. If you do any kind of mission critical work, we encourage you to do the same.

Problem: The main worship facility at South Delta Baptist Church of Delta, British Columbia seats approximately 1600 people with both main floor and in the upper balcony. Due to a 4 second reverb/decay time, a large percentage of the congregation was challenged in hearing the message due to a lack of vocal intelligibility - caused by excessive reverberation and echo.

Solution: Primacoustic Broadway panels were placed on only 17% of the wall surface and spread evenly throughout the sanctuary. Since the style of worship incorporates amplified instruments, careful attention was paid to the stage area to control reflections from vocal monitors, guitar amplifiers and drums.

As a result, reverberation was decreased from 4 seconds to just over 1 second, greatly improving intelligibility and enhancing the worship experience for everyone.

If you'd like to talk about acoustic solutions for your worship space, please get in touch with us. We would be glad to create a custom solution for you.

]]>Dave HornWed, 19 Nov 2014 09:43:02 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/17-seconds-to-better-audio.htmlDoing it right.http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/doing-it-right.html
A few months ago, we got a call from a pastor about the sound quality in the main worship space. He talked about uneven coverage, uneven sound pressure levels (volume), lots of low-midrange rumble at the podium and a general lack of audio fidelity. He seemed like he was ready for a new sound system.

We asked what he had installed now. Bose 502A. No problem there. Was he using the system controller? Yes. How and where were they installed? In a center cluster, about 5-6' directly above the podium microphone (see below). Uh oh.

This is not how to do it.

Two things stuck out to us. First, the center cluster was low. Of course, the ceiling is low, too, so options were limited.

Low frequency pattern control is a big issue that most don't consider when it comes to a new system. The short story is that...

]]>Dave HornFri, 14 Nov 2014 10:28:50 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/doing-it-right.htmlWhat are the differences between the Shure QLX-D and ULX-D? http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/what-are-the-differences-between-the-shure-qlx-d-and-ulx-d.html
We get this question a lot, and thankfully, we found some information from Shure that neatly summarizes the facts and confirms our suspicions about audio quality. The following article is a Tech Tep from the Shure Applications Engineering team.

Typical Applications for QLX-D - corporate events, live music, higher education campuses, houses of worship, hotels, conference centers. For a corporate installation, consider QLX-D if all the receivers are on the same floor and/or use the same Ethernet network. For live music, consider QLX-D for a small or medium-size concert hall.

Key Differences between QLX-D and ULX-D

In terms of audio quality, reliability, and RF performance, QLX-D and ULX-D are the same. The primary differences are network sophistication and RF flexibility.

]]>Dave HornWed, 12 Nov 2014 10:03:42 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/what-are-the-differences-between-the-shure-qlx-d-and-ulx-d.htmlElectro-Voice Roadshow 2014 - the place we found a new favoritehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/electro-voice-roadshow-2014-introducing-etx-powered-loudspeakers.html
If you've followed what we've written for long enough, you've seen us switch gears and to offer new favorites of powered choir microphones, earset microphones, powered speakers, line arrays, video projectors and equipment in general. And we think that's okay. If we didn't have new favorites, that would mean that our suppliers were still turning out the same old stuff in new packages, and that's just not the case.

In September, we were invited by Electro-Voice to come out to one of its roadshows. Thankfully, it was here in Columbus, so we didn't have to travel very far, and they fed us lunch. That's always a plus.

For about two hours, we listened. We sat outside and got to hear most of the Electro-Voice product line at a full-sized outdoor stage. The picture above is not the Roadshow, but just a file photo.

At the Roadshow, we heard larger-format line arrays for festival-type use, line arrays for permanent installation right beside those larger arrays, new powered speakers on stands next to large-format conventional speakers with small format installation speakers close by, and more. Events like these are really rare, so we always try to get out to hear the lineup, especially when it's in a real-world setting.

We heard a 2-way 10". I like small loudspeakers, so I was immediately interested. One listener interrupted and asked "is the sub on?" It wasn't (we were all fooled). Amazing bass response. Then the demonstrator added the sub, switched it off and them fired up the 12", added the sub to that, fired up the 15", added the sub. Eventually, he moved to a 15" 3-way with two subs underneath. We heard $100,000 line arrays, we heard $500 smaller speakers, and people kept asking to listen to the ETX again. So we listened some more.

]]>Dave HornMon, 10 Nov 2014 18:25:19 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/electro-voice-roadshow-2014-introducing-etx-powered-loudspeakers.htmlVideo display solutions for bright roomshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/video-display-solutions-for-bright-rooms.html
Is your video projector washed out? Not washed up, but washed out - as in, the light in the room is so bright that you can't see the image, no matter how bright the projector is. It happens all of the time -- house lights, stage lights, sunlight. Some of those can be fixed, but you can only go so far.

Every day, we watch televisions, computer monitors, and our devices (phones, tablets, etc.) and we're pretty spoiled. High brightness and beautiful color, and if you're indoors, these video displays generally unaffected by the light around you.

Then we decide that we want to see that same image in a meeting room or auditorium. If we're not careful with lighting placement or choosing the right projector and screen, we can see something like this.

You can't make out anything (video or words). But that's what overhead fluorescent lights (let alone sunlight) can do.

With a conventional projection screen, there's not much else to expect, since the projected video image is picked up equally well compared to the other light sources and reflected back to your eye. Add to that that the darkest part of the white screen is as black as your black on the screen can be.

Does that make sense? If so, how do you get a really good, dark, detailed black on a white screen with high ambient light. Well, you don't. You get what's shown in the photo above.

There are no shortages of personal mixing products any more. It wasn't so long ago that Aviom was the only game in town. The Digital Audio Labs Livemix is a product that I've been waiting to review for almost a year. We first saw it at InfoCom 2013. We shot a video of it back then, but it wasn't quite ready. A few weeks ago, a big box arrived on my doorstep full of personal mixing goodness.

We'll do this in three parts. First, an overview. Second, we'll dig a little deeper into the components and how they are laid out. Finally, how does it actually work. From the outset I'll say that I like the system. It's built well, sounds good and offers some unique features that no one else does - at least not the way they're implemented here.

System Components

Like most personal mixing systems, the Livemix consists of two main parts; the input module and the control surface. Here, it's implemented a bit differently. The input module consists of the Central Mixer or Mix-16 and either an analog input module, the AD-24 or a Dante expansion card. And of course, you have the personal mixer itself. Now, you might notice something right away that is unique here. The personal mixer is called CS-Duo, which I suppose stands for Control Surface, Duo. There are actually two complete personal mixers in each control surface.

While that might initially sound confusing, it's really not in practice.

]]>Dave HornTue, 30 Sep 2014 09:54:27 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/livemix-personal-mixing-system-part-1.htmlLiveMix - Personal Monitor Systemhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/livemix-personal-monitor-system.html
Let's just call this a pre-review because we're pretty early in the acceptance cycle for LiveMix, but all looks pretty convincing that this is a personal monitoring solution that is both affordable and effective. As they say "Simple enough for volunteers, deep enough for professionals."

The system is available in two packages - one with analog inputs and one with Dante for digital. Both are $3999 for eight users with mixers, cables, a hub, mic stand mounts, and your choice of input device. Additional personal mixers (each accommodates two users) are just $524.99.

We were introduced to LiveMix by one of our larger church clients and also by a system integrator in the upper midwest. Take a look at the video below (it's well thought out and tells the story pretty convincingly), and if you'd like more info, give us a call at 800-747-7301. We'll have it up on the site for purchase soon.

From what I can gather, one of the traits of most successful people is the ability to try new things. Ability may be the wrong word—we all have the ability to try new things. Perhaps the word I’m looking for is desire. I love to try new things. I’m always on the lookout for some new technology, process, idea, whatever. Along the way, I’ve made some fantastic discoveries.

Sadly, I have also had many conversations that go somewhat like this.Other Person: So, what kind of PA are you putting in your room?

Me: Bose RoomMatch. We’re pretty excited about it.

OP: Oh, I would never mix on one of those. Terrible.

Me: Really? Have you ever mixed on it?

OP: No.

Me: Have you ever heard it?

OP: No.

Me: Have you even looked into the technology behind it?

OP: No. Bose=bad. That’s all I know.

Usually, all I can say at that point is, “Huh.” Now, we all have our biases. We all have things we know that we generally like. Given the choice, I’d probably choose a Heil mic over another most of the time. But if someone shows up with a new mic I’ve not used before, I’ll give it a shot. In fact, that’s how I discovered Heil. I had never heard of them five years ago, but someone showed up with a box full, and we gave them a try.

Try New Things

Alton Brown used to say, “Play with your food!” I tend to agree. Try new things. You never know what’s going to happen. Just because you’ve been doing something the same way for the last 10 years doesn’t mean it’s the best way. Talk to someone else and see if you can learn something from them.

I’m convinced that one of the reasons our stage is so efficient is because I’ve stolen ideas from a lot of smart people over the last 10 years. Every time I visit a church or talk with another TD, I try to pick out something that I can learn from them. It’s amazing how much you will know if you just talk with other people.

]]>Dave HornFri, 13 Jun 2014 10:03:19 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/think-different.htmlBose L1 Compact - perfect portable PA systemhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/bose-l1-compact-perfect-portable-pa-system.html
Could there be a more polarizing company in the universe of audio than Bose? Bose's marketing slogan is "Better Sound Through Research". Critics have restated that as "Better Sound Through Marketing" and have derided the product with chants of "No Highs, No Lows, must be Bose." Frankly, I like Bose products, in general, and have wondered what I've been missing that others have found so easy to dislike. Sure, they've had some dud products, but so has every other manufacturer on the planet.

Let me introduce you to the Bose L1 Compact by telling you my story. Several months ago, our Bose sales rep dropped off the L1 Compact and left it. He said "Just try it someplace, and I think that you'll like it." A week went by, and then another, and then two more. I hadn't touched it, and I knew that he'd want it back. Plus, I had given my word that I'd try it.

At the church I attend, we were planning an outdoor service to dedicate our community garden and I had been asked to make sure that we had a sound system capable of accommodating both acoustically-flavored live music and the spoken word for about 150 people outdoors. And any of you who don't have a dedicated portable sound system at your church (and who know what a pain it is to round up a system in order to take something outside) will appreciate what I'm about to write.

I had spent the better part of two hours going down to church, looking through the youth system, the main system extra gear, even the old gear, and thinking about how to get the system outside while still being ready inside for the regular service. That day, I would be the lone sound technician for both locations and there wasn't another experienced tech to be found, even to carry a speaker. Thinking about what might have been unassisted set-up and tear-down, I was a little bit stressed and maybe a tad bit grumpy. Maybe. Most of you have probably never felt that way.

Buy a brighter projector, turn off the lights, dim the lights near the screens, get motorized shades for the windows, schedule your events at a time when the sun isn't streaming through the windows. We've all been there. We've all hoped for a better way.

Screen Innovations (SI) is the undisputed world leader in ambient-light rejection screen technology, and they've done it again! Following seven years of success with Black Diamond™, SI now offers Slate™ which enables your projection system to excel in high ambient light environments.

Slate was invented to provide the best picture possible, but at a lower cost than Black Diamond, and by eliminating 65% of the room's ambient light, it also eliminates the need to settle for white or gray screens. Matte white screens reject only about 10% of ambient light.

Made in the USA, Slate is a flexible multi-particle optical screen offered in standard sizes up to 200” 16:9; larger sizes are available on request.

With its high performance and efficiency, Slate allows us to pair it with projectors with lower light output in order to create an optimal price-performance solution for you.

]]>Dave HornTue, 17 Dec 2013 16:08:27 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/dont-turn-out-the-lights.htmlEliminating Wireless Dropoutshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/eliminating-wireless-dropouts.html
Multi-path interference is the most common cause of wireless drop-outs, and if you can get rid of multi-path, you can get rid of a good number of headaches. So what exactly is multi-path interference?

This post explains multi-path, diversity receivers, and a new antenna for eliminating the problem.

When a microphone transmitter sends out a radio wave signal, it spreads through a room, like ripples on a pond. As the wave encounters flat surfaces, like walls and ceilings, it reflects and continues forward at different angles. Since there are multiple surfaces in every room, there are multiple reflections and hence multiple paths--some longer and some shorter--that a wave takes before reaching the wireless receiver.

Usually, the receiver is able to process two or more signals arriving at slightly different times without difficulty. But if the signals overlap in such a way that they cancel each other out (creating a “null”) you get a drop in volume or complete drop-out. Sometimes, the shape of the room can cause a multi-path null to perpetually hover over a receiver. Other times, when the speaker walks past a certain spot on the platform, a dead spot will develop and you’ll hear a quick drop-out.

Diversity receivers filter out multi-path interference by using two antennas instead of one. Most wireless receivers that have two antennas are diversity receivers. Since a multi-path null occurs only in specific and relatively small locations, it is less likely that a null will exist over both antennas. This is called “spatial diversity.” But spatial diversity does not work 100% of the time.

I recently met Camron Ware through Mike Sessler of Church Tech Arts and we think that you'd like to get to know him, too.

Growing up, Camron was that kid, that creative kid; the one who you asked to run lights because you didn't have any one else, the one who tried new things, the one who didn't know how it was supposed to be done, and the one who ended up changing the way his church looked at worship. Fast forward 15 years, and today Camron is helping churches all over the country invigorate the visual part of their worship experience.

Camron heads Visual Worshiper and created the methods we've come to know as Environmental Projection (EP). EP is the process is transforming today's "blank canvas" worship spaces into dynamic visual spaces through the use of lighting and projection technologies.

Imagine projecting scenes or themed graphics onto unconventional spaces like the walls, the floor, or even the outside of your worship facility. The possibilities for what you do are only as limited as your creativity.

And that's where Camron and his crew come in. They travel the country helping churches design, install, and then train clients on the use of EP in their worship spaces.

If you'd like more information, read Camron's story here. Look at his design gallery here. If you connect with him, make sure to mention that you heard about him from us. Sometime soon, Camron will be in Columbus to help us create some dynamic spaces at my own church, so keep an eye on these pages for the transformation.

]]>Dave HornFri, 22 Nov 2013 16:02:08 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/News/meet-camron-ware-of-visual-worshiper.htmlInnovation or Copycat? Voice Technologies VT901 Earsethttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/innovation-or-copycat-voice-technologies-vt901-earset.html
It's been more than five years since Countryman changed the face of audio with its E6, an ultraminiature earset microphone. With tens of thousands sold, you could argue that the lavaliere microphone is nearly obsolete for live audio and that the E6 has been a gamechanger for speech applications. With its success, the E6 spawned a host of copycat products; some good, some not so good and some better, but no one can argue that the E6 set the standard.

A couple weeks ago, I called one of our suppliers to order a product for a client and a familiar voice answered the phone. It was my friend Bryce Boynton. For several years, Bryce worked for another microphone manufacturer, and he had just started the new job.

We talked for a few minutes about how a guy from Colorado was settling in in the northeast, and as we talked, he said, "Hey Dave, I have a microphone that I'd like you to try. It's an earset, and I think that you'll like it." Bryce came from one of the world's premier microphone manufacturers to this position, so he's a microphone expert, and I thought to myself...

]]>Dave HornThu, 26 Sep 2013 09:42:55 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/innovation-or-copycat-voice-technologies-vt901-earset.htmlYour easiest streaming solution!http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/your-easiest-streaming-solution.html
When it comes to video streaming solutions, we've learned a few things the hard way. And sometimes, after learning the hard way, video streaming is still difficult. The primary reason is that the public internet isn't always consistently as fast as your ISP claims.

Many of our clients are smaller churches. Why? Well, because most churches are smaller churches. So when a smaller church wants to stream video outside its walls, how much can it spend? And how hard can it be to make it work? The answers: not a lot, and it has to be simple.

This isn't the solution you'd want if you have a second campus and need a life-size HD picture, but if you have various groups of people anywhere else who want to connect with you, whether they speak your language or are just staying home with a sick kid, this might be just what you need. People can watch from any tablet, computer, smartphone, or internet-enabled television. And yes, you could project its output onto a screen, too.

This solution does not require a computer, it does not require encoding software and it doesn't even require any ongoing cost, if you're willing to watch an occasional advertisement.

]]>Dave HornWed, 25 Sep 2013 15:51:26 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Product-Reviews/your-easiest-streaming-solution.htmlThree Keys for Building Designhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/three-keys-for-building-design.html
Editor's note: We can't stress enough that you read this article, read it again, and then promise to follow all of Mike's recommendations. If you do so, you'll be ahead of 90% of churches out there. One of my investment advisors rants that no one really wants to learn about investing, but that most people just want a quick-fix. It's the same in the technical world. There are no shortcuts when it comes to proper planning, equipment selection, and integration.

Today I’d like to tackle a few suggestions that I always give to churches who are starting a building project. I always say the same thing, mainly because these are the areas I see churches skipping time after time. Skipping these things ensures two things: First, you and your congregation will not be happy with the performance of the sound, lighting and/or video in the room. Second, there will remain a healthy market for companies that specialize in fixing churches that were designed and built poorly.

With that said, here are three things you cannot skimp on when entering a building project.

Fix the Acoustics Before You Build

First, the overall acoustic signature of the room has to be correct. This is where most churches skimp out. They let the architect design the building; which is fine except I've yet to meet an architect who has any real clue how acoustics work. A few do, but they're the ones who design churches for a living and have acousticians on staff.

The problem is most architects want the room to look nice and be easy to build.

Growing up in Mexico City, little did Abraham Laboriel know he'd one day become the most popular session bassist ever, with over 4,000 recordings to his credit. Originally a classically trained guitarist, Laboriel switched to bass at age 24, embarking on an incredible career highlighted by sessions with Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Larry Carlton and many more. After playing through countless rigs, Laboriel recently decided to leave traditional bass amps behind and move forward with the full-range StageSource L3t loudspeaker – giving him the sonic accuracy he needs to fully express himself.

How did your upbringing in Mexico City contribute to your development as a musician?
I grew up in Mexico City, the son of Garifuna parents from Honduras, a people with their own very rich musical culture. My dad was a great guitarist, songwriter and performer who traveled throughout Latin America, mastering all the local rhythms. He started teaching me guitar and Latin rhythms.

My older brother Johnny was a huge rock 'n' roll star in Mexico in the '50s. The American companies sent him the recordings of all their latest hits for him to translate into Spanish and record as covers. So at an early age, I had access to hit records and started playing along. I was also exposed to jazz and fell in love. I was able to sneak backstage at the Bellas Artes to meet Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, The Modern Jazz Quartet and many others.

Is it the best microphone available? No. Is it the cheapest microphone available? Hardly.

Since its introduction over 40 years ago, the benchmark for vocal microphones has been the Shure SM58. It's still standard by which microphones are measured and for good reason. It sounds good and there are tens of thousands in use every day. We all know what to expect when we plug one in.

A big part of the problem with serving behind the scenes is that you are, by definition, supposed to be pretty much invisible. Most of the time, we technical artists are OK with that. We'd rather not be the ones on stage, talking to the crowd; or even in a big room full of people if we're honest. We like to be in the background, and that's OK. But there's a problem with being invisible.

We tend to feel invisible, too.

I'm sure it's happened to you (and if it hasn't, it will) on a Sunday afternoon that while you're picking up the stage, eager congregants will come up and tell the worship leader, band and pastor what a wonderful job they did. They'll go on and on about how much they love to worship, and how much they got out of the message. This is all good.

But it can sting a little, too.

We know that we helped make the service happen. Shoot, we may have even made the band a sound a lot better than they really are (reverb covers a multitude of sins, and sometimes turning down a guitar is better than turning it up...). We made sure the pastor's slides were made, and displayed at the right time. All the mic's worked exactly the way they were supposed to. The lighting complimented the music, and the service was technically excellent.

]]>Dave HornMon, 10 Jun 2013 15:58:16 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/god-sees-your-service.htmlExcellent sound, without the engineering hassles!http://geartechs.com/index.php/Testimonials/excellent-sound-without-the-engineering-hassles.html
It's not often that we turn a note from a user into an article. We usually post those to the comments section of the site, but these people just confirm what we think of the Line 6 M20d and L3 and L2 speakers. Easy to use, so easy that you will be an almost-expert in less than an hour, and great sounding!

---

Dave,

I wanted to report that I unpacked and set up our Line6 sound system--had it working in less than an hour and it is AMAZING! It is, as advertised, designed for the musician who wants excellent sound without the engineering hassles.

Ed Nugent, Muldrow, OK

And another:

I purchased the stagescape mixer and speakers with subs which was one of the best musical equipment investments I've ever made. I spend more time with the music than chasing issues such as EQ & feedback. The system has taken my band to a new level from a sound perspective. It is quick and easy to setup. I had to work with the wireless features a bit and am now learning the recording feature. At first glace you may experience sticker shock but believe me it's worth every penny.

---

Yes, the mixer is a little more expensive than other conventional digital mixers, and the speakers are, too, but if you're like me and don't have extra time (or more hairs to pull out), anything that makes life easier and more efficient is worth a bunch.

Every week, we're in (or called by) a new church client that has a big pile of equipment, a mess of cables, and a volunteer tech that has no idea how to make it work. They want us to troubleshoot and train, and we do.

Proper operation and set-up of a sound system isn't easy if you've never done it before. But you still need a sound system, right? Buy carefully, or you might end up with a pile of stuff that doesn't work the way you want it to.

Take a few minutes to read about the M20d digital mixer (it has a full graphical interface - not a bunch of knobs and sliders) and the L2 and L3 smart speakers. The speakers hook up in parallel (patch one to the next to the next to the next - until you're out of speakers) with a data cable (similar to a mic cable) and they "know" whether they're being used as main or monitor based on a sensor that tells the speaker that it's lying on its side.

And the equipment sounds fantastic. That's exactly what a sound system is supposed to do.

Is there anything worse that a wireless microphone that doesn't work properly? I can't think of many.

Take a look at the following article from Shure's Applications Engineering team to discover ways to help make your wireless microphone systems work more effectively. Some of these are pretty basic, but it's never a bad time to get back to basics, so I think that you'll find it valuable.

A few weeks ago, one client found out that his monitors weren't working because the monitor equalizer was turned off. He just assumed that it was on, since everything else in the rack was powered up.

Reason #1: Dead or weak batteries
How to check: 1) Substitute new, fresh, brand-name alkaline batteries. 2) Examine the wireless mic battery terminals to make certain they are making a secure contact to the battery terminals.

Reason #2: Operating frequency range of the wireless receiver does not match the operating frequency range of the wireless mic/transmitter
How to check: Find the operating frequency range marked on the receiver, e.g., H6 524-542 MHz. Check the wireless mic/transmitter for the same frequency range. The frequency ranges must match exactly.

Reason #3: Failure of an audio interconnect cable
How to check: 1) Substitute another cable of the same type. 2) Use an ohmmeter to check the cable for a shorted wire or an open wire. 3) If using a body-pack transmitter, substitute another lapel mic or head-worn mic of the same model.

Reason #4: Operating frequency is not appropriate for the location
How to check: 1) Using the zip code of the location and the model number of the wireless system, consult the Shure Wireless Frequency Finder web tool to determine recommended frequencies. 2) Use the SCAN feature of the wireless receiver to find an open frequency.

Reason #5: Local interference from other electronic devices or wireless systems
How to check: 1) Turn off any electronic device that is within 5 feet of the wireless receiver, such as a DVD player, a CD player, a computer, an iPod, a wireless router. 2) Remove the wireless system and take it to a different location at least ½ mile away. If it works OK there, the problem is local interference in the original location. Finding the source of local interference often requires the use of a frequency spectrum analyzer - an expensive piece of test equipment.

Reason #6: Improper installation of the wireless receiver or its antennas
How to check: 1) Determine if there is clear line-of-sight, at all times, from the location of the wireless mic transmitter to the receiver antennas. If there is not, the installation could be suspect, though hidden antennas can work satisfactorily if installed correctly. 2) Have the installation evaluated by a local wireless microphone expert.

Reason #7: Failure of the receiver's external power supply
How to check: Substitute another power supply of the same type or with equivalent electrical specifications.

With the explosion of wireless devices (phones, tablets, wireless mics, wireless internet, etc.) over the last few years, using best practices when selecting and using wireless systems is even more important than ever. If you have questions about how to make your wireless gear work as well as possible, please call us. We have lots of tools that make our job easier.

Like any gear guy, I have my favorite products. And like any good gear guy, those favorites change from time to time.

Last week, our church launched its community garden space, and we needed a better sound system for the event. Since our existing small portable system wasn't quite what we needed, we had borrowed a different system for our Easter Sonrise service (outdoors), but I'm a firm believer that churches should own or rent all of the gear that they need, and that borrowing is not a good option.

So what constitutes a "better" sound system? Frankly, I was tired of lugging an 80 pound amp rack, with a CD player/iPod dock, small mixer, a wireless microphone, a drawer full of cables, and a power conditioner -- along with speakers, stands, and cables. The system had served us well for 5-6 years of our outdoor basketball league, for youth events, camps, and more, but I wanted something more portable and something easy enough for anyone to set up and use. Even as simple as it was, it could have been better.

The requirements for the speakers: small, lightweight, built-in amplifier, great sounding, microphone input, line input (1/4" and XLR), pole mount socket, ideally could be used as a small monitor (with the horn in its proper rotation, of course), and they had to cost less than $500 each.

One of the best features of the ZXA1 (like many powered speakers) is that it has a microphone level input so you can take a dynamic mic, the ZXA1, a speaker stand and cables and have a complete small sound system. The line input will take the output from a music source, too - a two-channel mini mixer. The ZXA1 weighs in at just under 20 pounds, and is about 11x18" on its face, and it sounds great.

It's just as at home as a small monitor as it is a small main speaker. Now, we're talking small when I say small. You're not going to play rock and roll to 500 people outdoors and you won't rattle any windows, unless you get the ZXA1-Sub - and even then rattling windows outdoors isn't terribly likely. The ZXA1 and ZXA1-Sub combo (a pair of each) is a fantastic small system for youth rooms and choir rooms, too.

I was recently asked by a reader for some suggestions on helping his church's leadership understand the need to hire an integrator for new building project. If you've read this blog at all, or listened to ChurchTechWeekly, you know it's something we talk about a lot. Sadly, most churches don't do this well. In the case of our reader, his leadership thinks that they can do the job in-house, and things will be just fine. As someone who has been working in churches a long time (20+ years), I can tell you that in-house jobs rarely end up in the same zip code as fine.

Now, to be sure, there are some churches that can tackle an in-house install. Typically those churches are fairly large and have multiple technical personnel on staff. That technical staff has collectively many years of experience doing design, and installing equipment. They also have a great relationship with an equipment vendor who they can ask advice on things they don't know about.

Those churches are rare, however. Most churches are smaller with less experienced (if any) technical staff. Now make no mistake; I think the small-church technical leader or volunteers are real heroes. They get stuff done in the face of non-existent budgets, time and equipment. But there is a vast difference between making things happen on a weekend and designing and installing a full-blown A/V/L system in a new (or renovated) building.

Designing a full system takes a lot of know-how, and requires an encyclopedic knowledge of equipment. Given the wildly varying standards we're dealing with right now, it's far too easy to end up with systems that won't work together. Designing speaker systems is far more complex than hanging a few boxes in the air (which also needs to be done safely), and typically DIY projects are less than desirable.

As someone who for whatever reason seems to be the Mike Holmes of church tech, I can tell you've I've pulled out a lot of gear that was installed by well-meaning but terribly uninformed people. It can take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix mistakes that were done in the name of saving money. Don't do it!

Here are the top five reasons you should not do it yourself. Feel free to send this link to your pastor...

]]>Dave HornWed, 29 May 2013 10:58:22 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/why-hire-an-integrator.htmlShure Apps Tech Tip: Microphone Distance Factorhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/shure-apps-tech-tip-microphone-distance-factor.html
What is the Distance Factor for a microphone? In brief, it means that a directional microphone may be placed farther away from a talker than an omnidirectional microphone and still produce similar audio results. This assumes two microphones of equal quality and sensitivity.

As an example of the Distance Factor, let's consider a simple application: recording a talker's voice in a meeting room. Through experimentation, an omnidirectional mic is found to produce an acceptable recording when placed 2 feet away from the talker.

Acceptable recording = minimal level of background noise in relation to the talker's voice level. Rule of thumb: the talker audio should be at least 20 dB louder than the background noise.

Now try a cardioid microphone in place of the omnidirectional. The Distance Factor for a cardioid is 1.7. This means the cardioid may be placed 1.7 times the distance of the omnidirectional and produce the same audio quality. In this example, the cardioid may be located 3.4 feet away (2 feet x 1.7) from the talker and produce an acceptable recording. The Shure KSM141 is the perfect microphone for this experiment as it can be switched from omnidirectional to cardioid.

Next, try a supercardioid mic in place of the omnidirectional mic. The Distance Factor for a supercardioid is 1.9. So it may be placed 3.8 feet away (2 feet x 1.9) from the talker and produce an acceptable recording.

Then, put a hypercardioid microphone in place of the omnidirectional. The Distance Factor for a hypercardioid is 2.0. It may be placed 4 feet away (2 feet x 2.0) and produce an acceptable recording.

Finally, try a shotgun microphone in place of the omnidirectional microphone. The Distance Factor for a typical shotgun is 3.0, which allows the microphone to be placed 6 feet away (2 feet x 3.0) from the talker and produce an acceptable recording.

Remember that the Distance Factor is a multiplication function that directly relates to the audio quality obtained with an omnidirectional mic in a given acoustic environment. If an omnidirectional mic must be used at 1 inch from the talker for acceptable results in a noisy setting, then a hypercardioid mic must be used at 2 inches for the same results... not, not, not the 4 feet mentioned in the previous example above.

IMPORTANT: The increase in Distance Factor for a directional mic is due to its greater rejection of ambient (background) noise, not due to any increase in sensitivity to the desired sound source. In other words, the directional mic does NOT reach out and grab the sound emanating from the talker's mouth. Really, it does not…

When a mic is placed farther from the talker, more amplification is necessary to maintain the same output level. In a public address application, it is loudspeaker positioning that often dictates microphone location and overrides the Distance Factor in determining the maximum distance from microphone to talker.

]]>Dave HornTue, 14 May 2013 11:46:48 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/shure-apps-tech-tip-microphone-distance-factor.htmlShure Tech Tip: A Small Slice of Ohm's Lawhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/shure-tech-tip-a-small-slice-of-ohms-law.html
The sound system designer required the power consumed (in watts) from each Shure product in the design. This information was required to satisfy the local electrical inspector that the sound system would not overload the electrical circuits in the vintage building. In most cases, the watts rating can be found on the Shure User Guide for the product. If it is not listed, it can be calculated; all that is required is simple multiplication. First, here is a lesson in basic electronics using water as the analogy:

Example 4: The SCM800 is rated at 24 watts when connected to a 120 Vac source. 24 divided by 120 = 0.2 ampere or 200 milliamps.

If the voltage and amperes are known, the wattage can be calculated. If the wattage and voltage is known, the amperes can be calculated.
]]>Dave HornWed, 01 May 2013 15:46:53 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/Resources/shure-tech-tip-a-small-slice-of-ohms-law.htmlWired Guitar + Wired Microphone = Electric Shockhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/wired-guitar-wired-microphone-electric-shock
A Tech Tip from Shure Applications Engineering:

The musician was bewildered…more than usual. "When my guitar is connected to my amp with a cable, and I sing into a wired mic, I get an electrical shock through my lips. If my guitar is wireless, it does not happen. If my mic is wireless, it does not happen. Why do I get shocked when the guitar and the mic both use a cable?"

Of course, the mic gets blamed because it touches the lips. But the culprit is not the mic, nor the cables. The culprit is the guitar amp.

Because of the electric design of many vintage guitar amps, it is not uncommon for a small amount of current (120 VAC) to "leak" onto the amp chassis.

]]>Dave HornWed, 24 Apr 2013 14:03:08 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/wired-guitar-wired-microphone-electric-shockWireless Mic Antenna Placement - Closer Is Betterhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/wireless-mic-antenna-placement-closer-is-better
A history lesson: when Shure introduced the Vagabond professional wireless mic system in 1953, its primary purpose was to replace the 20 foot cable attached to the microphone. The Vagabond was not expected to reliably transmit a signal for hundreds of feet. In the 1970s, wireless mics began to grow in popularity, particularly for in-studio TV production (think "person presenting the weather") and for Las Vegas stage shows. But even then, the transmission distance was relatively short.

As wireless mic technology improved, the transmission distances increased. Eventually, the pro audio world began to think of a wireless mic as replacing a 200 foot cable run, not just a 20 foot mic cable. So antennas were moved farther away from the stage - often ending up by the mixing console for the sake of convenience. This antenna relocation method worked well for three decades, primarily because there just were not many RF (Radio Frequency) signals in the air.

But now in 2013, the trend is beginning to reverse. The reason is the...

Recently, a local theatre group was staging a Broadway musical. During technical rehearsals, there were ongoing problems with the wireless microphone system and I was asked to consult with the production crew. As the theatre was near my home, I stopped by one afternoon.

There were ten channels of Shure UHF-R in L3 band, and twelve channels of UHF-R in the H4 band. All receivers were UR4D+ units, and were grouped in their respective frequency bands, i.e., all L3 units in one group and all H4 units in the other group. I was pleased to find that the operating frequencies had been properly coordinated. But then I saw the antenna set-up and immediately knew the source of the nagging problems.

Here is what I found:

Four UA874US antennas located 60 feet from the stage with direct line-of-sight to the stage;

Two antennas for the L3 receivers; two antennas for the H4 receivers;

All antennas mounted vertically;

All mounted side by side with six inches from antenna to antenna;

All four antenna BNC cables were less than 10 feet in length;

All antennas had gain settings of +12 dB;

One antenna had no LED illuminated.

Before I continue, test yourself. There are three major errors in the antenna setup. (Insert "Jeopardy Final Answer" theme music here.)

Located in Hollywood, Catalina Bar & Grill has been a revered fixture on the West Coast jazz scene for over 25 years. Legendary performers like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis have played there, a tradition that owner Catalina Popescu continues by booking today's top jazz artists. With a full kitchen, elegant dining room and perfect sight lines, every effort is made to honor the club's legacy of hosting incredible performances in an intimate space.

Recently, Catalina decided to upgrade its sound system with StageSource loudspeakers from Line 6. "When we heard how beautiful they sound, with such great clarity, we knew it would make a big difference to finally make the sound as good as the view for our customers," says Catalina Popescu.

The installation provides full coverage of the club's L-shaped audience area, with a total of six StageSource L3m and three L2t loudspeakers hung from the ceiling, augmented by six L3s subwoofers.

]]>Dave HornThu, 28 Mar 2013 13:12:21 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/hear-the-difference-at-catalina-line-6-stagesourceAntenna separation - or why does my wireless drop out?!http://geartechs.com/index.php/antenna-separation-or-why-does-my-wireless-drop-out
A customer purchases a Shure PSM900 (Personal Stereo Monitor) system and installs the PSM transmitter in the equipment rack next to a Shure SLX wireless mic receiver. At the rear of the rack, the PSM transmit antenna is six inches away from the SLX receive antennas. When the PSM transmitter is operating, the SLX wireless system becomes unreliable, exhibiting numerous drop-outs. Power off the PSM transmitter and the SLX operates satisfactorily.

Now here is the rub: it is not a frequency issue. The frequencies were properly coordinated to avoid interference between the units. So what is the root cause? An analogy will explain.

Sometimes younger TDs will ask me how we know when we're doing a good job. It's a legitimate question. As my friend Dennis Choy says, for us, excellent is normal. A weekend when everything goes right, and no one notices we're there is a weekend when we did our job. So if that's normal, how do we know we're doing a good job?

Well, certainly one could say that if we're having more weekends when everything goes well than we are weekends that don't, we're doing a good job. Or perhaps if we don't get comment cards that it's too loud. Or maybe if the pastor liked the lights or the sound. Those are not bad metrics; but let me suggest another one.

You're doing a good job if your team can pull off a major event when you're not there.

I had this experience a few weeks ago. In the days after NAMM, I came down with some type of contagion. I was completely laid out for about 6 days. Unfortunately, this coincided with a night of worship that we had on the books. I was scheduled to mix FOH, while my ATD Jon was to run ProPresenter. Lights and video were to be handled by volunteers.

And here I was, sacked out on the couch, unable to move. Once it became clear I wasn't going to be able to be there, we started putting out calls. One of our former Pro operators (who also happens to be my daughter) stepped up to run Pro so Jon could mix. Our communications guy offered to help set the stage.

When the event started, the team absolutely rocked it. It wasn't long after it ended that reports started coming in that it was incredible. It was then that I realized I was doing a good job. When I started receiving emails saying, "We missed you, but your team did great!" I knew. I no longer have to be there for things to go very well.

Now, Jon did tell me it was a lot of work and a bit stressful without me there, and he had a few questions for me about the console. But the fact that they ran the whole event without any of my direction or participation is a great indication that all the work we've done building reliable and easy to use systems, training teams and developing our culture is paying off.

I hated to miss the evening, and I missed mixing it; but I'm glad I did.

]]>Dave HornTue, 12 Feb 2013 11:45:11 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/how-you-know-youve-arrived5 Reasons to Choose a Countryman DI http://geartechs.com/index.php/5-reasons-to-choose-a-countryman-di
Okay: we're a little obsessed with direct boxes. We enjoy inspecting aluminum extrusions for nicks, browsing switch datasheets during lunch, and devising new ruggedness tests for the legendary Type 85, and new Type 10, Type 10S Stereo, and Type 85S Stereo boxes. In our defense, the DI is one of the first elements in your system, and the way it performs can make or break your sound. A lot goes in to a great DI. Find out why Countryman DIs are an essential part of road kits worldwide:

1. Tough

Every Countryman Direct Box is built unreasonably tough, because we know life on the road and in the studio is rarely reasonable. When it comes to outrageous ruggedness, Countryman DIs crush the competition:

Call us for more info. We're still awaiting actual pricing at press time.

]]>Dave HornThu, 24 Jan 2013 20:41:49 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/aviom-introduces-the-a360-the-personal-mixer-than-lots-of-us-have-been-waiting-forMixed Live and Multitracked on a Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2 w/ iPadhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/mixed-live-and-multitracked-on-a-presonus-studiolive-1642-w-ipad
We can use words to let you know about how a product works. Today, we have the benefit of video with audio, so that you can experience it.

I'd like to introduce you to a friend and client Jared Mahone. We mixed his CD Release Party just a few weeks ago. What you'll hear is 16 tracks of audio recorded to a stock Macbook Pro. Mixed live on the Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2 via iPad. Look for the bald guy at front-of-house. I think that you might recognize him. (The other console was used only by the opening band.)

Presonus StudioLive is a complete recording and mixing (and ear monitoring and music publishing and personal mixing and room tuning) solution. Priced from $1299.

If you're not familiar with us, that's okay. We first met Mike Sessler about three years ago when he needed some Heil microphones. We're big fans of Heil mics and we do our best to keep our eyes peeled for products that make great solutions.

Over time, we've come to find out that we share lots of the same preferences in equipment with Mike and his team, so we were thrilled when he asked us if he could introduce our company to you via an advertisement on the Church Tech Arts site.

(While I'm thinking about it, make sure to sign up for our email list in the upper part of the left navigation. Every couple weeks, we feature new products, special deals and relevant articles. We won't load up your email box and you can unsubscribe at any time.)

Technology for Worship is what we do. Audio, video and lighting. If it's part of your worship service, and it has to do with technology, we can probably help.
Our clients come in all sizes. A couple have 20,000 attendance and multiple venues, some have 5000 attendance and three or four campuses, most are 100-500 with a single campus and one or two staff people. A couple of our multi-site clients have multiple small campuses and a call to reach rural America.

To the solo pastor or worship staff person, we're often his or her tech director. To the tech director or weekend volunteer, we hope to be a trusted resource and a source of ideas when it comes to solutions. For a few clients, we help with project planning and with long-term equipment standardization plans.

The way we hope to be different from other dealers is that we bring a broad level of knowledge and a curious spirit to the audio, video, and lighting equation.

Anyone can ship you a microphone, or a projector, but few thrive on helping you discover new products and can help you know what to expect when a new product is integrated into an existing system.

Since we talk with lots of people, it's not unusual for us to know someone who has been right where you are. The issues of product selection, proper integration, and even volunteer management aren't unique to you, and we're happy to help you connect with others.

Our website will never be as deep with products as larger companies, but if you don't see it, there's a very good chance that we sell it. But we're not really a typical online company.

We work hard to answer every phone call live. And the guys answering the phones have managed installation projects, pulled wire, terminated cables, flown speakers, designed systems, and helped people just like you to make technology work.

Whether you need help with a solution and don't know quite what you need, or if you simply need another resource for products and ideas, please call us anytime.

Some of the things we like – earsets from DPA, Countryman, and Que Audio; speakers from Electro-Voice, JBL, Community and Danley Sound Labs; microphones from Heil, Audix, Earthworks, or Sennheiser; digital mixers from Midas, Roland, Presonus, and Behringer; analog mixers from Allen & Heath, Soundcraft, and Mackie; video gear from BlackMagic Design, Kramer, AJA, Softron, Livestream, Marshall, Roland, and FSR; personal mixing systems from Elite Core, Roland and Aviom; in-ears from Shure, Audio-Technica and Westone; DI's from Radial, BSS, and Rapco; cables from Whirlwind, Rapco and CBI; stands from K&M and Ultimate Support; projectors from Panasonic, Eiki, Christie and Barco; cameras from Sony, Panasonic and BlackMagic Design; accessories from Chief, Peerless, Ansmann, Clearsonic, Middle Atlantic and Raxxess; screens from Da-Lite and Draper; recorder/players from Tascam, Denon and Marantz; processing from DBX, Symetrix, BSS, and Biamp; wireless systems from Audio-Technica, Shure, Line 6 and Sennheiser; lighting from Leviton, Chauvet, ETC, Blizzard, and Mega Systems; and amplifiers from Crown, QSC and Lab Gruppen. There are plenty more, but that'll give you an idea of who we are.

We're based in Columbus, OH and work with people from all over the country. We occasionally send something to Japan, Canada, Europe, Africa or Australia, too. And we're as likely to get a call from a church in Orange County, California as we are from Ohio.

We want to be a resource for you. If we look like your kind of company, sign up for our email list or give us a call.

A couple weeks ago, I picked up a pile of gear from a client, all of which needed to be serviced.

Once we figured out what went where, I filled out all the paperwork, and carefully shipped it off to the respective manufacturers. Keep in mind that all of this is gear I've sold over the years. Little did I know that I was in for a big surprise.

Before the repaired units arrived back here, we received the invoice from Shure. Noted on the invoice was the phrase "CP Counterfeit Unit". In other words, the customer's property (CP) was not what it appeared to be.

I didn't know what to think. We had sold the unit, and this particular client doesn't buy anything from anyone else. So how did he end up with a counterfeit receiver and antennas?

Intelligent and intuitive, this unique digital mixer is the heart of Line 6's ambitious rewrite of what users know about portable PA.

I've come to expect the unexpected from Line 6, a pro audio company with an overall design philosophy that, first and foremost, serves musician end-users. From their first incarnation of the POD digital guitar amp modeler in the late '90s to their 2010 entree to live sound, their XD Digital Wireless line, Line 6 has well served those not tied to the traditional standards of legacy pro audio equipment.

The StageScape M20d live sound mixer is another Line 6 innovation of that kind; at first glance, it's nothing like the channel-stripped mixers of old. Unique and high-tech sexy, it is streamlined, largely naked of knobs and buttons and provides no vertical faders. Paired with complimentary Line 6 StageSource loudspeakers, is built to do things that traditional portable PA rigs do not, such as provide touchscreen visual-based mixing; multichannel recording with soundcheck loop capabilities; comprehensive iPad remote control; auto-sensing I/O; loads of DSP power; and much more, all in an intelligent, digitally-networked rig.

Key Features

Out of the box, the M20d feels rock solid, like a tightly-built MacBook Pro (and it even looks similar, though no relation). In typical Line 6 fashion, this forward-thinking product is built for the expected rigors of a modern gigging musician's life, and its seven-inch, full color touch screen and 20 buttons/knobs brings all the capabilities of the M20d to my fingertips. Its footprint is approximately 16 inches wide by 14 inches deep - compact but large enough for any user, thanks to its uncluttered design and layout.

The Hammond B3 is one of those iconic sounds of modern music. And by modern I mean since about the 1950's or so. The Hammond B3 was the invention of Lawrence Hammond. A serial inventor, he figured out that the synchronous motor he used in the first electric clock could produce musical tones. In 1934, he unveiled the Hammond model A. They were originally sold to churches as a substitute for pipe organs.

A simple block diagram of the Leslie 122 speaker.

In 1954, Hammond introduced the B3. When paired with a Leslie 122 rotary speaker, the sound was born. Starting with Jimmy Smith, Booker T. Jones, The Rascals and dozens of other bands in the '60s and '70s, the B3 became a staple of jazz, R&B and rock music. The combination of the tone wheels that can produce a full chord of harmonics with a single key and the dual rotating speakers of the 122 cabinet produce a distinctive sound that is unlike any other.

We've all been hearing the buzz for a long time. A 32 channel digital console with flying faders for under $3000. At first the thought of such a console sounded preposterous. There was much debate as to whether this would be a piece that would be taken seriously in the marketplace. Surely corners would have to be cut, sonic quality would be greatly compromised, and the feature set and user interface would be dumbed-down. There were immediate scoffers, myself included. It would be easy to conclude that the X-32 didn't really deserve a look. Except for one point gnawing at the back of my techie brain.

One word really. Midas. I'd been drooling over Midas consoles for years, and with the Behringer acquisition of Midas, I expected to see a decrease in the quality of the Midas brand, and the opposite happened. The newer generation of the Midas digital consoles are better than ever. With Behringer now signing the paychecks for the brilliant engineering staff at Midas, job security says when the boss asks if using this technology we now own, can you implement this in a product with a street price under $3000.00 it's a good idea to come up with a way to say “yes we can”....and yes, they did.

A few weeks ago, Tim Cool from Visioneering posted a thought-provoking post of the same name. It’s very good, and I suggest you go read the whole thing. He asks several questions related to staffing, building and designing. As I thought about what he wrote, one particular question resonated with me:

What will it cost to have the wrong audio and acoustics in your worship center? Again, this is not just the cost to fix the issue, but the frustration quotient and emotional capital. What are they worth?

This is one of the things I see churches missing regularly. How many churches have to build multi-million dollar buildings that sound terrible because they didn’t want to spend $20,000 on an acoustician? How many churches have to install hundreds of thousands of AVL gear that doesn’t work properly because they didn’t want to spend any money on design?

As someone whose mission in life seems to be helping churches undo the bad tech decisions they’ve made (I’m sort of like a Mike Holmes of the church world), I can tell you the cost of getting it wrong is pretty high.

The H6 Headset is Countryman's newest microphone, designed for exceptional performance and value.
1. Sweatproof
The H6 Omni Headset, with its new watertight connector, is submersible to one meter. It's ready to take on dust, sweat and make-up on stage and screen.

2. Tough
The H6 Headset is made of stainless steel with a flexible, chemical-resistant coating, and H6 Cables are packed with aramid fiber with a 45-pound break strength.

3. Low Profile
The H6 capsule is less than half the size of the Sennheiser HSP2 and DPA 4066 on an extremely light frame. The folks at Countryman have also precisely tuned the four colors of the H6 to blend in against the skin, making the mic virtually impossible to see when its worn.

5. Versatile
Choose an H6 Omnidirectional with frequency-response-tuning caps, or an H6 Directional with field-switchable polar patterns. Switch the microphone boom or snap on a new cable in seconds to interface to hundreds of different wireless transmitters and digital recorders.

]]>Dave HornWed, 07 Nov 2012 10:10:16 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/wet-no-sweatMaking In-Ears Work for Youhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/making-in-ears-work-for-you
Making "In-Ears" work for you

by Gary Williams

If I had to define my experience with in-ear monitoring I would have to describe it as a "love-hate" relationship. When I buy a new piece of gear, like most everyone else I love that "instant gratification" factor. When I unbox that new keyboard or guitar, I'm giddy with excitement as I hear immediate results.

Of course, over time there is a learning curve on the higher tech toys, but for the most part, it never fails to make me cackle maniacally those first few hours as I push buttons just to see what happens. Come on now, don't judge me - we all do it.

So a few years back when I ordered my wireless in-ear monitor system, I couldn't wait for my next gig to try them out. The day came - I beamed as I handed the transmitter to the hired sound guy and gave him a brief description of what I wanted to hear and after some further direction, and a less than satisfying sound-check, my much anticipated in-ears were removed and I limped through the remainder of the show without a monitor wedge, straining to hear what stage volume bled over my direction. WHAT HAPPENED??? It wasn't supposed to be like this.

]]>Dave HornMon, 22 Oct 2012 18:49:09 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/making-in-ears-work-for-youEverything is amazing, and no one is happy!http://geartechs.com/index.php/everything-is-amazing-and-no-one-is-happy
by Mike Sessler, ChurchTechArts.org

Louis CK has a bit in his routine where he describes some of the miracles of modern life, and how we're never happy with them. The bit is pretty funny. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when a few of our musicians got to complaining about the trouble they have communicating with each other during rehearsal now that we're all on ears.

I thought back to three years ago when I arrived at Coast. We had 7-12 monitors on stage, that typically generated 88-90 dB SPL at FOH, 90 feet away with the main PA off. The sound was pretty dreadful back then, the stage was a mess, the piano was rarely in tune and had more drums in those mic's than piano, sound check typically took more than an hour and at the end, people were rarely completely happy.

Today, we're so dialed in that sound check can be done in 20 minutes if everyone cooperates, stage volume is almost 0 and by all accounts, the sound in the house is better than it's ever been. The piano sounds great, and by changing out most of the mic's so does everything else. Oh, and with the M-48 personal mixers, the musicians can usually get a great mix; one that's tweaked exactly for them.

What’s New: New from Radial is the Firefly, a high quality tube DI with tons of features. Set in a heavy-duty metal casing, the Firefly combines a class-A front end with a single 12ax7 tube stage, providing warmth and character of a classic tube sound with the legendary sound quality of the classic Radial direct box. A quick walk-through of the electronics demonstrates Radial’s commitment to quality. The discrete class-A circuit features zero negative feedback, eliminating any phase cancellation in the signal and providing a natural, full sound. The 12ax7 tube gives the DI a warm, smooth sound and the output is isolated by a high quality Radial transformer to eliminate hum and buzz. The result is a low-noise, warm, fat, and natural sounding DI.

Features: The features on the Firefly were made with the working musician in mind. Connected to the input is a drag control that allows the user to adjust the load on the pickup of the instrument connected to it, making all pickup types sound great through the DI.

]]>Dave HornFri, 12 Oct 2012 15:21:47 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/radial-firefly-the-qbest-sounding-direct-box-ive-ever-heardqJust because you like it, why should I? Audix VX5 reviewed.http://geartechs.com/index.php/just-because-you-like-it-why-should-i-audix-vx5-reviewed
A couple weeks ago, the Audix sales rep stopped by with the Audix national sales manager in tow. I've known both of these guys for a long time, and we've enjoyed a friendly relationship for at least 15 years. We spent a few minutes catching up and telling stories, and as we talked through the line, the topic of missed opportunities came up. I often ask sales people if they have products that we're missing out on -- ones that other dealers are selling successfully (and that we're not), or ones that no one is selling, but that everyone should be. And like a good salesperson, Gene had an answer.

Gene let me unbox the microphone and I have to admit that it had a nice look, and a great feel, but what a mic looks like doesn't matter much to me. The VX5 is made here in the USA, solidly built, and precise in its fit and finish. But again, how would it sound?

Since it's pretty much impossible to get a feel for a microphone in an office setting, Gene left the microphone with me, and I decided to try it out on an unsuspecting vocalist.

When it comes to bass, the question we get asked all the time is "which direct box works best: active or passive?" The answer is easy: it depends. In fact, more than anything lese, it depends on what kind of bass you have. To understand the options, we must first know some of the history and how the direct box has evolved over the years.

When it comes to signal flow, there are two types of bass guitars: passive and active. The first electric basses i.e.: the original Fender Precision was passive and still is today. It employs magnetic pickups to generate the signal. As the string moves in and out of the magnetic field, a low level alternating current is generated. The signal from the bass travels through the cable to the amplifier which in turn increases the voltage level so that it is sufficiently powerful to drive another electromagnetic device called a loudspeaker.

In essence, the signal is amplified by a series of buffers that work together to increase the voltage and/or current as needed.

For years this worked well, until bands like the Beatles messed everything up!

Now you can edit and share presentations and content from anywhere you have Internet access and ProPresenter 5. This exciting new feature offers incredible convenience. If church staff want to work on services at home or in the office without the hassle of exporting and transferring their presentations, they can now do so easily.

With this annual subscription service, what you create and upload at home or the office will automatically be downloaded to your presentation machines. This is also a great solution for deploying content and presentations to multiple locations. You can set up presentations on one machine and they will automatically be distributed to all ProPresenter systems signed in to that account.

]]>Dave HornWed, 10 Oct 2012 11:24:17 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/introducing-propresenter-cloudA Total Paradigm Shift in Live Sound Reinforcementhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/a-total-paradigm-shift-in-live-sound-reinforcement
Comprised of a StageScape™ M20d smart mixing system and StageSource™ loudspeakers, the Dream Stage combines several breakthrough technological advancements into one powerful system—so you can experience sound in a whole new way.

From October 1–December 31, 2012, you can save $150 per StageSource loudspeaker (limit 10 per customer)—andup to $1,700 on the Dream Stage.

When you network StageScape M20d with StageSource loudspeakers via L6 LINK™, the integrated system makes it fast and easy to get great live sound. Whether you need a single loudspeaker or a multi-speaker Dream Stage system, there’s never been a better time to invest in Line 6 live sound solutions.

The Line 6 StageScape M20d does a fantastic job of addressing the challenges we face each week, and it does it all via a touch-sensitive user interface that can be mirrored on one or more iPads.

WORKFLOW
One of the biggest challenges we face on Sunday mornings is developing a streamlined workflow for sound check, monitor levels, and front of house mix. Workflow is an integral part of how this unit was designed, and is key to its effectiveness in a worship environment.

MODES
The five Mode Buttons allow you to toggle between the Setup, Tweak, Record, Monitor, and Perform views in the UI. With the exception of Record Mode, these buttons trace the exact production path you’d follow on a Sunday, making for a streamlined approach on an architectural level.

Gainesville, GA (September 19, 2012)—Danley has debuted the SM-80, the latest in its SM-series of lightweight, molded-horn loudspeakers.

The SM-80 weighs 65 lbs. and is designed for small to mid-sized live sound and installed sound applications. It sports an 80x80 coverage pattern and its frequency response reportedly extends from 110Hz to 20kHz, with 102dB SPL sensitivity. Its continuous power rating is 400W in and 128dB SPL out, peaking at 1600W and 134dB SPL, respectively.

Its single 12-inch coaxial driver and paired horn offer 8ohm impedance. Constructed out of 13-ply Baltic birch, the SM-80 measures 25.5 inches high by 24 inches wide by 12.75 inches deep. MSRP on the SM-80 is $2,999.

For the last few months, we've been having problems with one of our wireless IEMs. It's a PSM900, and while it generally provides good service, it occasionally just drops out for a split second. We've tried a bunch of things to fix it; swapping frequencies, antennas, even changing positions of the transmitter. But we still get these random drop outs. They don't seem to be RF hits per se, as we've done multiple scans and fully coordinated our frequencies between the 900 and our two channels of PSM1000 (the only other thing we have in that range).

I was about ready to send it in for service this weekend, when I recalled an idea that one of my Shure friends suggested at NAB; lower the transmit power. Whereas the PSM1000 has automatic RF attenuation built-in to the receiver to guard against overpowering it, the 900 does not. I thought we were transmitting at 10 mW, but when I checked the transmitter between services, it showed we were at 50 mW.

So, just for fun, I dropped the power to 10 and stood back to see what would happen. After the service...

]]>Dave HornMon, 16 Jul 2012 13:02:06 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/a-quick-rf-tip-for-wireless-gear&quot;Okay, we're back now.&quot; Keeping your security team and greeters connected. http://geartechs.com/index.php/qokay-were-back-nowq-keeping-your-security-team-and-greeters-connected
Right away, I have to tell you that this won't be a typical equipment review. In fact, it's not a review of how a product works, but simply an observation of how the church I attend keeps its Outreach Team (the guys that serve in the parking lot) connected during our worship services.

Our weekend worship service starts at 9:30AM and at 10:03AM, I felt the sound desk vibrate. "Hey, what happened to our service?" My friend Marty had sent me a text message to say that the guys outside had lost the signal from the service. I thought, "Hey, they ARE listening." and quickly shot back a text message to let them know that we were in the Meet and Greet break. Since I didn't have an ambient microphone in their audio feed, when the band mics and the pastor's mic went off for the break, they heard dead air. I quickly sent them some sound to let them know that they were still okay and the service restarted within a minute or so.

Each week, Marty stops by the tech booth to pick up radios for the three or four guys who faithfully serve in the parking lot. Rain, snow, 100 degree Ohio summers or ice cold rain, these guys greet people, keep an eye on the cars, and they make sure that anyone who needs anything gets what they need. And normally, once the receivers are picked up, I don't give it another thought -- except this week was different.

A few years ago, we purchased an assistive listening system for the hearing impaired, never thinking that our small church would find a use for the system other than...

You’ve heard the challenges with analog wireless—now let Guy Coker explain the benefits of digital wireless in general, and Line 6 solutions in particular.

So what are some of the key advantages of digital?

Digital wireless provides a 100% 24-bit digital picture of whatever you’re playing or singing. It’s just like going to a high-end studio, recording a vocal or the output of your very nice instrument, and then sending it to the receiver. A series of ones and zeros gets transmitted in the air—there’s no ambiguity or room for error.

When the receiver gets the signal, it’s crystal clear just like it was when you put it into the device. There’s no change of dynamics, there’s virtually no loss of dynamic range and more importantly, there’s no loss of frequency response. You get up to 120dB of dynamic range. You can transmit Earth-shattering lows, which is awesome.

What’s your design philosophy and inspiration for continuing to develop each new generation of Line 6 digital wireless systems?

I always take the approach that using our wireless should be seamless and enjoyable for the user, so I innovate by automating common tasks.

]]>Dave HornTue, 03 Jul 2012 12:39:34 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/guy-coker-digital-wireless-why-digital-worksLine 6 - Tour-quality wireless at an entry-level price point. http://geartechs.com/index.php/line-6-tour-quality-wireless-at-an-entry-level-price-point
After 25 years on the road, including almost a decade as front of house engineer and production manager for blues artist Jonny Lang, Gerry Stinson is back home in St. Cloud, Minnesota, about an hour north of Minneapolis.

Since his return, Stinson has found a new favorite wireless system. "The Line 6 XD-V digital wireless is a game-changer," he says. "They sound great, and finding available frequencies just isn't an issue. Plus, they hit a great price point and are as physically tough as most products I've used out on tour. It's just a great design - and that's making a huge impact in my community."

Like Stinson, we always look for a combination of great sound and ease of use for our customers. "Churches and schools need...

]]>Dave HornTue, 03 Jul 2012 11:54:58 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/line-6-tour-quality-wireless-at-an-entry-level-price-pointHow to use video compression for better streaming results. http://geartechs.com/index.php/how-to-use-video-compression-for-better-streaming-results
With more and more churches producing video, we're finding that it's one thing to self-produce successfully, but quite another to self-encode and stream with predictable, high-quality results. About a year ago, we began to dig into existing video set-ups to help support some of our clients (and a few referred to us through from video streaming provider WorshipStream). What we found was that very few were pleased with the results they were getting with Flash Media Live Encoder or Wirecast to stream from services like WorshipStream, LiveStream, UStream, Vimeo, etc.

And it's not anyone's fault. Getting good results is dependent on a variety of things. Everyone has a fairly unique set-up of projectors, cameras, computers, and switchers, and the successful use of all of that for live streaming is dependent upon both local and remote internet bandwidth. All of the best HD video gear can be completely hamstrung for live streaming by poor Internet connectivity. Public internet is fairly inexpensive, but it's still a shared pipeline and isn't completely predictable in terms of performance. Think about that like water pressure; the more people who take a shower at the same time, the less pressure there is for everyone.

Click right here for a basic primer on video compression from Vimeo. It's geared specifically to improving performance for users of the Vimeo platform (which many churches are now using for archived service videos), but can help you find your way through settings for other services, and will define some terms with which you might not be familiar. Also on that page, there are a bunch of separate tutorials for many of the most popular video editing programs. And at $199 per year, Vimeo Pro is a truly professional hosting platform that's both easy to use and affordable. Vimeo Basic and Vimeo Plus might also meet your needs.

PennStage is a flexible range of rugged, high quality staging products built from 6061 structural grade alloy and high quality plywood. It features a durable ¾" slip proof and water resistant surface as standard. The versatile Fastfold support systems come in a variety of fixed and adjustable sizes to ensure compatibility on variable grades and surfaces. Setup and teardown are a breeze with no tools required.

PennStage also feature a full range of accessories including stairs steps, handrails, guardrails, wheelchair ramps and a range of product carts. Standard and custom designs are available.

Take a look at the video below to get an idea of how fast and easy setting up a PennStage can be. Please call us for pricing on all standard and custom configurations today!

Once upon a time, Line 6 Principal Wireless Product Developer Guy Coker was a musician on a quest for great tone. Hear how he went from answering phones for an electronics company to revolutionizing the pro audio market with his digital wireless technology.

How did you first get into wireless technology?

I was a frustrated musician. I was broke and without a job, so I started to work for a small electronics company answering phones. I would bring my music gear in all the time, which would spark conversations about different products to develop, and I got the idea to start working on digital wireless.

The fact that I couldn’t buy a good wireless system was really problematic—there was nothing out there that felt or sounded like a cable. The company liked the idea, and we started working on it. It took about three years to develop the first digital wireless system.

The application is designed to control parameters of the M-480 allowing the user to store scenes and edit the Channel Strip (EQ), GEQ, and Sends on Fader to name a few.

Using Wireless LAN to connect, customers are able to adjust mixing parameters on stage or around the room, away from the M-480 positioned at the front of house. By connecting Roland’s new Wireless Connect USB adapter to the M-480 USB port, the M-480 can appear on a wireless network enabling the iPad to connect and control the M-480.

“The success of the iPad as a tool in live audio applications is clear. This dedicated App is an important step in a series of logical progressions in our development of remote controlled applications for operators”, states John Broadhead, Vice President of Technology and Communications.

The app is expected to be released in the App Store Q3 2012.

About Roland Wireless Connect
The hardware portion of Roland Wireless Connect is a simple, compact wireless USB adapter WNA1100-RL (that plugs into the USB port on a Roland product or instrument. In order for the mobile device to communicate with the M-480, you can setup a point to point ad-hoc network or use a wireless LAN access point.

About Roland M-480
The M-480 V-Mixer features 48 mixing channels and 6 stereo returns for a total of 60 channels. Bussing is strong with a total of 27 consisting of 16 auxiliaries, 8 matrices and full support for Mono, Stereo or LCR sound design. With a configurable choice of available digital I/O boxes, the M-480 can support up to 90 inputs and 90 outputs – all fully assignable via the digital patchbay. The patchbay also has the unique ability to route any input to any output without going through the mixer. Each mixing channel includes 2 stages of dynamics processing, 4-band PEQ, and delay. Dedicated 4-band PEQ, limiting and delay are available on every output.]]>Dave HornWed, 06 Jun 2012 17:30:52 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/roland-announces-ipad-appPerfection is the Wrong Wordhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/perfection-is-the-wrong-word
by Mike Sessler, ChurchTechArts.org

Recently I was reading an article about Sir James Dyson, the guy who came up with that super-sucker of a vacuum and that really sweet air blade hand dryer. It’s a classic rags to riches story; he toiled away in obscurity in the garage for years trying to get his invention right, and then almost lost everything before it became a success. His “overnight success” was really the result of many years of hard, hard work.

As a fellow entrepreneur, I find stories like that fascinating. But what stopped me in my tracks was his quote about perfection. The write of the review suggested that the inventor would most likely be a perfectionist given his obsessive desire to make his products the best they can be. Instead, he said this:

Throughout the show, percussionists Justin Spencer and Ryan Vezina, DJ Todd Griffin and guitarist Matt Bowman proceed to use, misuse and abuse pretty much anything one can find at hardware stores, junk yards and landfills. Oh, and a chainsaw.

Nearly 60 Audix mics have been selected to sonically capture the show. "The Audix D6 and D4 crushed the sound of the other microphones we were using and trying," says Spencer; group founder and sound designer. "We have over 20 plastic barrels that we play. We need five dollar 22-gallon buckets from WalMart to sound like $2,000 kick drums, and Audix, with some plate reverb, is the choice for us."

In just a couple weeks, we should be receiving the first batch of dual ear versions of d:fine omni mics. The dual ear d:fine directional version will likely be shipping by mid-june. Also, the short omni boom versions of the d:fine should be available by end of June.

For those of you who already have a d:fine mic, or wish to purchase a current single ear version, you will be able to simply purchase a "dual ear mount" accessory which can convert the single ear to a dual ear in a couple of seconds.

If a mic is ordered in the dual ear version, it will come with the dual ear mount. Ordered as a single ear, it will come with the single ear mount. Dual-to-single mount accessories will also be available.

You should purchase the version of a d:fine that you will use the majority of the time. At any time, you can add the dual ear or single ear accessory.

You can have the d:fine headset any way you want it. The d:fine is the most versatile, comfortable, reliable, and best sounding headset available today.

Keep in mind that every part of the d:fine headsets are easily replaceable. Ear mounts, cable assemblies, and adapters can always be replaced -- affordably. A d:fine headset is a lifetime investment. It isn't to be thrown away if it's a little "bent out of shape."

If you have a question, please feel free to call. To take a look at our currently-stocked DPA d:fine microphones, click here. And if you'd like to try one, please let us know. We stock demo models so that you can hear the difference for yourself.

]]>Dave HornFri, 04 May 2012 12:05:06 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/dpa-dfine-earset-microphone-dual-ear-updateImproved PR35 Large Diaphragm Vocal Microphonehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/improved-pr35-large-diaphragm-vocal-microphone
Heil Sound has announced an upgrade to their popular PR 35 handheld dynamic microphone.

The PR 35 was first introduced in 2008 and quickly found favor with artists such as Joe Walsh, Charlie Daniels, Stevie Wonder and others.

While at first glance the changes are cosmetic in the form of a new chassis, several significant internal improvements have also been made.

Rear rejection, which has always been a strength with the PR series of mics from Heil, is -42dB with the upgrade. A concealed two-position roll off switch replaces the former thumb switch.

Visually, the new PR 35 harkens to a time when wired handheld vocal mics had a certain "look" and could be identified when seen on camera.

The PR 35 ships with three interchangeable colored trim collars that can be mixed and matched.

The new PR 35 is still priced at $274, and is made in the USA. Try one today. 100% satisfaction guaranteed.]]>Dave HornWed, 25 Apr 2012 21:36:49 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/improved-pr35-large-diaphragm-vocal-microphoneMy video projector has a purple spot!http://geartechs.com/index.php/my-video-projector-has-a-purple-spot
For the second time in the past couple weeks, a client has called asking what to do about purple spots or a purple splotch on the projected image. Those purple (sometimes red-purple) spots are typically due to dirt or dust coming to rest on the green LCD panel of your projector. We've had success in fixing this without having to resort to a factory service call by removing the air filters, cleaning them up and then using a portable vacuum cleaner (Shopvac-type) to draw air back out through the intakes. Often, the dust that's causing the bigger splotches will pull right out, and usually the smaller pieces, too.

Will this work 100% of the time? It's hard to know, but so far, so good. And, if there's a purple smear that covers the middle of your projected image, you're going to have to send it in for service anyway. What do you have to lose?

I hit on a cool trick this past week while putting together our Good Friday service. The last song, Jesus Paid it All, starts off very sparsely then builds to the crescendo of the entire service (before falling away to a single heartbeat and silence).

The first verse is played instrumentally, led by the B3, followed by the first chorus which is sung fairly far off mic. The next verse is led by the sax, with the vocals coming a little closer to the mic for the second chorus. Our worship leader leads the third verse with the chorus being sung right on the mic. It then builds into a refrain of “O praise the One who paid my debt, who raised His life up from the dead.” The song has over 30 dB SPL of dynamic range (starts in the 70s, ends over 100), and I wanted to find a way to emphasize that range.

I decided to create some depth with reverb. The first chorus, sung off mic, was to be the “farthest away.” I set my decay time on the hall reverb (used for the BGVs) to a whole note of the song, in this case 3.2 seconds. I also had an almost equal amount of dry and wet sound in the mix. The second chorus gets closer to the mic, and I dropped the decay time to 2.4 seconds, and pulled back the level of the verb. For the third chorus, I dropped the decay time back to 1.6 seconds, and gradually pulled the level down as the song built.

By the end, I had almost no reverb in the mix and the vocals were right in your face. The ending effect felt like the vocal team started off far, far away and came right into the auditorium in full force. It was a simple effect to do, yet added a ton of dimension to the experience.

]]>Dave HornWed, 11 Apr 2012 09:16:15 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/creating-depth-with-reverbBetter Drum Sounds - the hi-hathttp://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-the-hi-hat
Just this morning, our guitar player asked, "Hey Dave, is the hi-hat loud enough out there?" He obviously wasn't hearing it on the stage. Here are some great tips from Audix on how to make the hi-hat fit better into the mix. After all, if you can't hear an instrument in the mix, why bother playing it?

Though I’ve been using rechargeable batteries for almost 6 years now, I’m still learning the best way to maximize their life and run time. I am a firm believer in continuing education, and we try to monitor the life of our batteries, look at the data and feed that information back into our systems that get tweaked for better performance.

As I said in my previous post about batteries, I was a little disappointed in the life I got of my first set of AAs. I don’t blame the manufacturer; I suspect we didn’t use them in a way to maximize their life. So we’ve made a few changes. These changes are based on our usage patterns, so consider them as principles we’re trying, not absolutes to follow.

Rotate

The first thing I did was to establish a rotation pattern for our batteries. We have 32 AAs in stock, and use 12-16 for a normal weekend. However, now that I have a team of volunteers who help set up on Saturday (and this includes getting batteries for the mic’s), I noticed that they would gravitate toward some of the chargers and leave the batteries on the other ones. I suspect this led to some of the batteries being used a lot more often than others. This would explain why I have 12 or so batteries from the original set that still work great, and others that are pretty much done for.

]]>Dave HornWed, 14 Mar 2012 16:11:28 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/how-to-make-your-rechargeable-batteries-last-longerThe Season of the Switchhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/the-season-of-the-switch
More and more high profile artists are switching to the RC wireless capsules from Heil Sound. The latest list of "ship to" addresses reads like a study in musical diversity.

Rocker Bret Michaels purchased two RC35s -- he first tried the RC35 last summer on tour with Poison and immediately heard a difference in his monitors.

Last but not least, Detroit friend, Mayer Hawthorne will be teaching the "Earl Flynn" dance to crowds world wide via his silver RC35 from the Heil Sound custom shop.

Stay tuned for more additions to the RC group of users!]]>Dave HornFri, 10 Feb 2012 15:55:56 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/the-season-of-the-switchBetter Drum Sounds - tom tomshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-tom-toms
The fifth chapter in this video series on how to mic up your drums with Drum Clinician Mike Snyder and Audio Engineer Dean k. Mike demonstrates how to get the best sounds from your rack toms and floor toms.

Spend some time with these guys and learn how to tighten up your tom sounds by using the Audix D2 and D4 microphones. I think that you'll be well-rewarded for the time you spend watching these videos today. Please call us if you have questions about drum microphone technique, or about Audix microphones.

2012 is an exciting landmark for Audio-Technica. In 1962, our founder, Hideo Matsushita, opened the doors of our company in a one-story workshop handcrafting stereo phonograph cartridges. 50 years later we have grown into a worldwide audio innovator. We have branched out from our roots in Japan to a presence throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas - offering with each new product and new location more of the acclaimed fidelity and durability that have become synonymous with our name.

We hope our 50-year (and continuing) quest for perfectly articulate audio inspires people all over the world to create and enjoy wonderful works of communication and art. ]]>Dave HornWed, 18 Jan 2012 10:58:19 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/audio-technica-50-years-of-passionate-listeningThis could be perfect timing -- Electro-Voice FRI, FRI+ and FRX loudspeaker closeouts -- save 70%!http://geartechs.com/index.php/this-could-be-perect-timing-electro-voice-fri-fri-and-frx-loudspeaker-closeouts-save-70
On a day late last Fall, I was supposed to be out of the office for the morning, but got stuck inside. Have you ever had a day like that? I was expected elsewhere and just kept getting sidetracked.

The phone rang - again. This time, it was George, our Electro-Voice sales rep. He was simply confirming an order that had been sent over earlier that day. And then he said, almost as an afterthought, "You don't buy closeouts, do you?" He sluggishly mentioned that someone at EV had emailed all of the sales reps around the country and asked them to sell-off a pile of EV speakers, and wasn't willing to pay them any commission. How's that for motivation?

I said, "What do you have?" George continued, "Well I just got this email that asks 'Who wants to be a hero?' and you're the first person I've talked to since."

]]>Dave HornMon, 16 Jan 2012 20:27:59 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/this-could-be-perect-timing-electro-voice-fri-fri-and-frx-loudspeaker-closeouts-save-70Better Drum Sounds - overheadshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-overheads
We're 4 chapters into Audix's video series on getting better drum sounds. In this video, you'll hear Mike and Dean talk about how to use the ADX51 condenser for proper pickup of the "room dimension" of your drum kit.

The ADX51 is reasonably-priced at $229.95 and is part of several of the Audix drum packs. If you need a good all-around condenser microphone, make sure to check out the ADX51. It makes a great hi-hat mic, too. More on that in a subsequent video. As always, please call us if you have questions.

Last week I posted a link to an intriguing article written by Rachel Held Evans. Though she is in her 30's, is progressive and likes Mumford and Sons, she is more interested in being part of an "uncool" church than a super-hip one. Her thoughts on churches being "too hip" challenged me and got me thinking -- again -- about the role of technology in the church.

Now while it's true that I'm the Technology Director of a church, I've been spending a great deal of time thinking about how we sometimes over-use technology -- and I'm speaking of live production technology; audio, lighting, video, presentation. I wonder if sometimes we use technology as a crutch, or if it even becomes a distraction to our audience. To put this discussion in its proper perspective, I think it best we take a trip down memory lane to look at the progression of technology in the church.

To begin, we shall go all the way back to the end of the nineteenth-century. Back then, when it got dark at night, even in the city, it was dark. In populated areas, going outside at night could be dangerous because it the baddies would come out at night. Thus, most people stayed indoors after the sun went down.

]]>Dave HornMon, 16 Jan 2012 18:59:36 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/church-production-technology-fading-awayTruth Seeker Productions welcomes Gary Williamshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/truth-seeker-productions-welcomes-gary-williams
Truth Seeker would like to welcome Gary Williams to its staff. Gary brings a breadth of experience in the areas of music and technology, and we think that you’ll enjoy getting to know him.

Gary is a 1986 graduate of Capital University with a degree in Music Performance. While at Capital, Gary developed his interest in music technology operating the Electronic Music Lab and Student Recording Facility.

Doing what every young musician dreams of, Gary spent the next four years on tour as keyboardist/guitarist with Word/Starsong recording artists Bash-n-the Code, and wrote the title cut and top 10 Christian radio hit “More Than Enough” in 1989.

While with Bash and in the years since, Gary has learned his way around the recording studio having produced and engineered several independent recording projects.

]]>Dave HornWed, 11 Jan 2012 19:27:08 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/truth-seeker-productions-welcomes-gary-williamsBetter Drum Sounds - the snarehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-the-snare
In helping you discover the keys to better sound, we'd like to share Part 3 of this series from Audix on using microphones on the drum kit. Sit back and enjoy How to Mic Drums - Snare Drum.

]]>Dave HornThu, 15 Dec 2011 17:30:59 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-the-snarePersonal Mixer Headphone Extensionshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/personal-mixer-headphone-extensions
Headphone extensions have been the bane of many a sound engineer's existence. The cables on IEMs are never long enough to get from the musician's head to the Aviom or M-48, which means we need to provide some sort of extension cable. In the past, I've tried buying 1/4" headphone extensions and used 1/4" to 1/8" adapters, but those cheap, off-the-shelf adapters are very stiff and the adapters don't always work.

Recently, we've tried making our own. I found some super-thin cable and put a 1/4" TRS on one end with an 1/8" cable end on the other. Those worked well; at least until the 1/8" ends started failing -- which was about week 3. We then switched to regular cable (Mogami 2792) with a TRS on the PM end, and a locking 1/4" cable end with 1/4" to 1/8" adapter on the other. We even zip-tied a carabiner to the musician's end so they could clip to to their belt loops. Those work OK, but we've still had issues with the adapters (usually the left side cuts in and out).

]]>Dave HornThu, 15 Dec 2011 10:59:39 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/personal-mixer-headphone-extensionsDo you really know how to use a vocal microphone?http://geartechs.com/index.php/do-you-really-know-how-to-use-a-vocal-microphone
Audix has released the first in a series of three videos that showcase proper vocal microphone technique. This video is a must-watch for members of your band or worship team, especially new members. As you know, you can try to teach people about microphone technique yourself, or you have a video from an outside source say the exact same thing and they'll buy it -- hook, line and sinker.

]]>Dave HornWed, 07 Dec 2011 17:15:27 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/do-you-really-know-how-to-use-a-vocal-microphoneEarthworks DP30/C - To call this a Tom Mic would be like calling the Mona Lisa a Paintinghttp://geartechs.com/index.php/earthworks-dp30c-to-call-this-a-tom-mic-would-be-like-calling-the-mona-lisa-a-painting

That subject line caught my attention. Maybe the author should write marketing materials, as opposed to microphone reviews. If you're interested in reading more about a really high-quality drum microphone, check it out. I don't think that I could even begin to write a review like this, so I'll remind you that I didn't.

This reviewer admits to some "pointless digressions" but I thought that his observations were worth a read. If nothing else, I liked this comment in review of the new and improved DP30 snare & tom drum mic.

Designed as a tom microphone, the DP30/C features a new and strengthened flexneck to better resist movement and aid positioning, along with a new machined "aluminum conic capsule back" to deflect direct stick hits, and the fastest transient response of any drum mic across 30hz-30khz. That last part is according to Earthworks, but I have no reason to not believe them.

The handheld transmitter features six digital models that are based on top selling live-sound mics, including the Shure SM58, Shure Beta 58A, Sennheiser e835, Audio-Technica AE4100, Audix OM5 and Electro-Voice N D767a mic models.

Also included in the XD-V70 is a seventh model, the L6-DC7. The L6-DC7 is based on the combination of the frequency response of top condenser mics and the wide dynamic range of dynamic mics. As an added feature, the removable L6-DC7 capsule allows users to further customize the mic's polar pattern, frequency response and more.

If you need a great handheld system for under $500, take a look at the XD-V70 from Line 6.]]>Dave HornTue, 29 Nov 2011 21:35:51 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/the-worlds-best-wired-microphones-wirelessSennheiser Launches Battle Against Counterfeitershttp://geartechs.com/index.php/sennheiser-launches-battle-against-counterfeiters
Sennheiser Launches Battle Against Counterfeiters [The Hartford Courant, Conn.]

Sennheiser Electronic Corp., a high-end audio maker based in Old Lyme, is trying to knock out scores of websites and vendors selling counterfeit versions of its popular headphones, with a blast of lawsuits.

In one case, a phony pair of Sennheiser headphones was purchased from an online website by the son of Sennheiser's president. When Jeremy Falcone complained to his father, company president John Falcone, "It was, 'Hey Dad, these Sennheiser headphones I bought sound horrible!'" Turns out the horrible-sounding headphones were counterfeit, John Falcone said.

Sennheiser, a German company whose U.S. headquarters are located in Old Lyme, CT filed a dozen federal lawsuits this week in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The lawsuits, which allege trademark infringement and other violations, identify more than 100 suspicious websites and dealers in the U.S. and China engaged in the sale of counterfeit Sennheiser-branded products.

As more pirate websites and dealers selling knockoffs are identified, "more lawsuits will be forthcoming," Falcone said Tuesday.

]]>Dave HornMon, 28 Nov 2011 18:26:36 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/sennheiser-launches-battle-against-counterfeitersBetter Drum Sounds - the kickhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-the-kick
The kick, or bass, drum is typically the foundation of most audio mixes when there's a drum set in the room. Spend a few minutes with Mike Snyder and Dean K. as they explore microphone technique for the kick drum.

As they say, the Audix D6 sounds pretty darn good right out of the box. It shouldn't need a lot of equalization or crazy engineer tricks. And it's on just about everyone's "Top 3" list of kick drum microphones -- if it's not their favorite. The D6 is $199.95 and it's available right away. Call for more info, or click here to order online.

]]>Dave HornWed, 09 Nov 2011 09:34:30 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-the-kickDPA Headworn Mics - how will it work for me?http://geartechs.com/index.php/dpa-headworn-mics-how-will-it-work-for-me

"How will it work for me?" Isn't that the question we really ask when we're buying something, especially something we buy without trying it first.

We've all been disappointed by unmet expectations and products that turn out to be too-good-to-be-true. Well, the DPA d:fine won't be one of them. Unfortunately, it's not for everyone.

Those of you who know us know that there are certain products that we believe in 100%. Many of them are featured on our site. What you may not know is that we have demo stock of certain products so that you can try them with your system.

We've sold thousands of earsets over the years, and the earset itself has revolutionized the quality of the spoken word. The DPA d:fine (pronounced just like the word define), along with its cousins, the 4088 and 4066, are re-defining the standard for performance and quality among earset microphones.

]]>Dave HornFri, 28 Oct 2011 13:42:15 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/dpa-headworn-mics-how-will-it-work-for-meBetter Drum Sounds - the basicshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-the-basics
Chapter One in a series of videos on how to mic up drums using your Audix microphones featuring Mike Snyder, drum clinician and Dean K, Kink.FM audio engineer. This introductory chapter also features Mike Snyder's "Microphone Terminology 101"

If you have questions about how to get better drum sounds, or would like more information about Audix microphones, please give us a call at 800-747-7301. Keep an eye of for the next episode of How to Mic Up Your Drums in just a few days.

]]>Dave HornFri, 28 Oct 2011 12:45:02 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/better-drum-sounds-the-basicsDoing More with Lesshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/doing-more-with-less
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of two articles by regular contributor Mike Sessler from ChurchTechArts.org. It's called "Doing More with Less." The followup article is called "Doing Less with Less." Interesting thoughts. We think that you'll appreciate what Mike has to say.

This is a topic that many of us in the tech world are dealing with these days. We are continually asked to do more with less. This is common problem, and can perpetuate a cycle that will burn us out if we try to actually do it. Over the years, I’ve been in three churches that started off great, and quickly turned into a “Hey, you’re doing a great job, so now you need to do 2x as much with 1/3 the resources.”

To keep from working ourselves to death, we need to learn to delegate.

The trick is getting started. How do we decide what to "farm out." What jobs can I reasonably expect a volunteer to do, and what jobs to I need to keep on my plate. Though you may find yourself in a similar position of demands exceeding your ability to meet them, your answers may well differ from mine. Part of the process is to determine...

I can honestly say I’ve been waiting for this mic for almost two years. I first met Bruce Meyers, then President of DPA, US at WFX in 2009. I had been a huge fan of the 4088 and 4066, and desperately wanted to move our pastor off of the e6 to a DPA. However, he didn’t like dual-ear designs and wouldn’t wear one. When I talked with Bruce about that, he said they were working on a solution and it would be ready when it was right. Right as defined by those fanatical Danes who make the mics.

Well, it took them almost two years, but they did it. They came up with a single ear mic that is not only more secure than almost any single ear design out there, it’s also more comfortable and less obtrusive. And it has the same great DPA sound we know and love. At least that’s what we were told. I was anxious to try one.

A few months ago, Outreach Magazine asked me to come up with a few questions they could pose in a short article called, Should We Go For It?. Being the over-achiever that I am, I wrote 850 words. When the article came out, they published about 60 of them. Since I thought this was actually a pretty good article, I'm publishing it here, with the lesson learned (when someone asks for a few questions, write a few questions). The good news is that you—the reader of this blog—get the whole article...

Whenever making new technology purchases or technology upgrades, it's important to think through the reasoning behind them as well as the actual purchase/upgrade process. Here are five things to think about when evaluating technology.

Does the technology further or enhance our mission as a church?

In other words, what do you feel you can't do now (or aren't doing well) that is critical to your churches specific mission? Of course, this presupposes you are really clear on the mission of your church, but that's another article. Too many churches want a piece of technology because...

OK, it's time for an admission. The subject of headphones has never really made my heart skip a beat. I mean, you put them on, confirm that you have a signal at the mixer input and move on, right?

I've always been of the camp that thought that headphones couldn't really be trusted for anything serious in terms of the mix. Beyond that, the headphones I've had were uncomfortable and I just wouldn't use them unless it was an absolute necessity.

That was pretty much my attitude toward headphones until a friend recently introduced me to the Shure SRH840 headphone. Again, I have to admit something. I tried them reluctantly, just to appease him, not having any idea that I would be in for a treat.

A lot of worship bands want to play to a click track, a metronome that keeps everyone on time. There are quite a few companies (Boss, Korg, Yamaha) who make small, portable metronomes, and most have an 1/8” headphone or even a 1/4” headphone jack on them.

I’m not going to debate the use of a click and what it does or doesn’t do for the music; that’s another debate for another article. At this point, all I’m assuming is that the band wants to use a click and you as the audio engineer has to figure out how to make it work. There are several scenarios to consider, and I’ll try to come up with as many as I can.

Basic Configuration

First, you need to find a metronome (hereafter called a click because it’s faster to type…) with a headphone or line out. Take that output and route it into a DI. We have a cheap DI that’s designed to take a 1/4” stereo (TRS) source and turn it into two XLRs. Someone replaced the 1/4” with a 1/8” plug and we use that to get the click into the system. While you could buy a really expensive Radial DI for this purpose, it’s a click, so a cheap one will do fine. Set up gain for a solid, but not slamming level and you’re good to go. I use mono for the click; I’m not convinced stereo is worth the channel count.

Once in the system, you have to be very intentional about how you route it. Most mixers allow you to assign a channel to either a group or the L&R bus. With the click, you want to leave it unassigned. This is really important as you don’t want the click coming through the mains.

The Relay G50 Wireless Guitar System is a recent offering from digital instrument pioneers Line 6. Operating on the FCC/DTV compliant 2.4 GHz band and utilizing a 24-bit ADA conversion system, the G50 boasts 10-20KHz bandwidth and 120 db dynamic range. Since I don't own expensive scopes and test gear, I'll leave the validation of these specs to someone with a more scientific bent and instead give a hands-on, rubber-meets-road type of review. I tested the Relay G50 in a variety of venues and locales, and it delivered flawless performance with outstanding fidelity and remarkable battery life. At a street price of just under $400.00, it's an unqualified winner.

First Impressions...

When I first received the Relay G50 I plugged the transmitter into my Jazz bass, and gave it a shakedown run through a favorite hi-fi practice amp. The system passed the unadulterated sound of my beloved bass with no audible noise or phasing. In spite of the proximity of my Wi-Fi connected laptop, nothing I did generated anything like interference or static, so I headed out my back door for a stroll around the yard. Putting over 100' between me and the receiver did not cause any unwanted sounds or diminish the clarity and dynamics of the audio signal. Of course, there were only the usual household EMF fields and Wi-Fi networks that might present potential interference, but this superb performance would later be confirmed on many stages, from 500-seat nightclubs to 2,500-seat theaters and huge outdoor festival stages. Furthermore, the Relay G50 has seen duty in several different cities and states without a single rizz, pop, or dropout, so my concerns about the effects of high data traffic over the widely-used 2.4 GHz band were put to rest.

Most audio effects processors include a simple delay. Often, that effect gets overlooked because we typically reach for the plates, halls and other reverbs first. However, if you have the capability, adding some delay can create some very cool effects.

For this post, I will contain the suggestions to vocals only. Guitarists often add tap delays themselves, and putting some tap delay on drums can be really cool (when done well). But those will remain out of scope for the time being (play with those on your own).

There are tons of uses for delay; I will focus on two today--thickening and echo.

]]>Dave HornTue, 09 Aug 2011 10:27:29 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/cta-classroom-using-audio-delayNew Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Hearing Assistancehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/new-americans-with-disabilities-act-standards-for-hearing-assistance
In 2010, the US government modified the standards for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with respect to public assembly spaces and the quantities of receivers and hearing aid compatible receivers. All Assembly Areas are required to comply with the ADA.

So what is an Assembly Area by definition? According to Section 219.2 of the 2010 ADA, an Assembly Area is: A building or facility, or portion thereof, used for the purpose of entertainment, educational or civic gatherings, or similar purposes. For the purposes of these requirements, assembly areas include, but are not limited to, classrooms, lecture halls, courtrooms, public meeting rooms, public hearing rooms, legislative chambers, motion picture houses, auditoria, theaters, playhouses, dinner theaters, concert halls, centers for the performing arts, amphitheaters, arenas, stadiums, grandstands, or convention centers.

I've been having more conversations lately about trying to get sound "right." I've spoken with more than one Sr. Pastor or other church leader who just wants the sound to be "right," but doesn't really have a handle on how complicated the task of getting there is. In some conversations, they seem to intimate that there is a knob labeled "right," and all we have to do is turn it up and we're done. You and I know this is just plain silly, but I can understand their point of view.

For example; why does it take them 20 hours to come up with a 30 minute sermon? I mean really? Based on how I write, I'm quite sure I could write 30 minutes of dialog in under 3 hours. What are you doing with the other 17 hours, pastor? Surfing YouTube?

When we don't understand each other's worlds, it's easy to make assumptions. They tend to assume that the shiny new digital board mixes the sound all the way to "right" by itself, and we assume they're slow.

In an effort to bridge the gap, I'm always trying to come up with ways to explain the complexity of what we do. One of my latest illustrations comes out of my math-geekness. I started adding up the number of adjustments we make on any given Sunday to make the sound good. Then I started adding up the number of parameters we have at our disposal, out of which we make adjustments. Then it occurred to me that each of those parameters has a wide range of values. And I wondered what that big number added up to.

So I did what anyone would do, I built a spreadsheet. Starting with the basic parameters on our SD8 (I excluded multi-band comps and dynamic EQ, as well as inserted GEQs and FX) and started adding up how many things we can adjust (HPF, LPF, EQ, Comps, Gates, Auxes, Fader). In our current configuration, that number is 43. I then assigned an approximate number of values to each parameter.

Now this is somewhat subjective; take EQ gain for example. If you have 18 dB boost or cut, how many steps are there? The SD8 works in .1 dB. But who among us can hear .1 dB? So I took it to 1 dB, thus I have four EQ gains with 36 possible settings (actually 37, counting 0). I did the same with Q and frequency, then worked my way through the channel strip.

Any guesses as to how many values we have per channel strip? Remember, this is our board in our configuration and I've made some subjective judgements as to the number of values per parameter. Nonetheless, I came up with just over 2,000 values per channel!

Of course, we don't have one channel. In our case, we normally run between 32-40 channels on a weekend, depending on band configuration, number of speaking mics, etc.. Total it all up, and you are at 65,000+ possible values! 65,000! Some combination of those values will make it sound "right." And as my friend Roy says, "A lot more of them will make it sound wrong!"

I never really got a handle on permutations and combinations in math class so perhaps someone can help me out here. But if you take 43 parameters with 2000 possible values and spread it out over 32 channels, I'm guessing the total number of possible combinations runs into the billions. Math is like that.

Essentially, we have to pick one of a billion possible combinations (for each song, mind you) to make it sound "right."

Of course, this is a vast over-simplification; you can likely be 1 dB off on your guitar EQ and still be in the "right" ballpark. But when you look at this this way, it starts to become a little more clear that this is way harder than it looks.

And, we've not even begun to talk about mic choice or placement; reverb and other effects settings (heck, I didn't even count up output parameters and values!); or even the basic musical artistry that separates technically competent engineers from great engineers.

Feel free to pass this on to your Sr. Pastor if you're struggling to help him understand the complexities of what you do. I have the opportunity to run this by our Sr. and Exec. Pastor at the end of next month; I'll let you know how it goes.

Have you been successful in communicating the complexities of your job with your pastor? If so, what's your secret?

A while back I wrote a post on virtual soundcheck. Simply put, virtual soundcheck is a mechanism for capturing the inputs to your board as close to right after the mic pre as possible, then being able to easily play that back, in the same inputs as the real band. Digital consoles have made this process relatively easy, though the exact implementations vary.

The other day I was asked to recommend a digital console to a church who as looking to make the switch. As I pondered the options in their price range, one of their requirements kept coming back; the console should be fairly easy for volunteers to learn.

To some extent, this is a catch-22. An audio console is by nature a fairly complex device. The bigger they get, with more routing and mixing options, the higher the complexity. When moving to digital, the complexity factor goes higher. Even the best, most user-friendly consoles are still pretty complicated pieces of technology, and as such, require the user to spend a fair amount of time on them to be proficient.

This brought me back to virtual soundcheck. I thought of one of the ways we use virtual sound check, and that’s to train new volunteers. In the old days, training new volunteers had to happen either during the week, with no sound running through the board, at rehearsals, or--heaven forbid--during a service.

The ElectroVoice RE20 has been from it's introduction a favorite of broadcasters and announcers. Somewhere along the line, someone stuck it in front of a bass cabinet and discovered it rocks as a bass mic. Then someone else put it in a kick drum and found it works wonders there, too. In fact, the RE20 is great on a lot of things. And while it's not super-expensive (at least by premium microphone standards), at $400-ish, it's not a budget mic either.

EV realized there was a market for a more cost-conscious version of the RE20. In January, 2011 at NAMM in Anaheim, they introduced the RE320. Priced at $299.

When I saw it at NAMM, I knew I had to try it. I've used the RE20 in the past, and always liked it. But I have a hard time justifying the price tag when I have so many other things that need attention.

The week before Easter, a box arrived; it was my demo RE320. We were re-setting the stage anyway, so I pulled the PR-48 out of the kick and stuck the RE320 in. I think it was the second or third kick during line check that I knew this mic was not going back.

When I arrived at Coast, we had the "classic" combination of a Beta 91 inside and a Beta 52 in the hole. I know a lot of guys who like the dual mic technique in the kick, and I respect that. My preference however, is to use one. There are a lot of reasons for that which I won't detail here. But know that it's preference thing and I don't think dual mic'ing is wrong. I'd just rather not.

The other day I was talking with Kevin Sanchez, and he asked me if I had ever written a post about our sound check procedure. I thought I had, but a quick search of the site turned up nothing. So here it is.

I’ve found the sound check to be one of the most important times of the entire weekend experience. It’s a short window in time that allows you to set the tone for the service, either for better or worse. A smooth, well-run sound check will put the musicians at ease and enable them to lead well. A rough one will elevate tension and put the service in jeopardy.

For me, the key to a successful soundcheck is all in the preparation. That means...

As I've had family in town all week, today's post is going to be simple and quick. I want to throw out three quick tips for helping get your monitor mixes dialed in faster and with a little less stress. The general assumption here is that you're mixing wedges from FOH, but the principles will apply to just about any situation.

Start with a Rough Mix

For some, this may seem obvious, but it makes a big difference. Back when I was mixing on analog consoles, we would typically zero out the board after every weekend. So when the band got there, they didn't hear themselves or anything else in the wedges. It took me a while, but I learned they found this disconcerting.

My initial fix to this problem was to put just each instrument in their wedge to start. That helped, but the more I played with it, the more I found that I could build a basic mix even before they got there that would end up reasonably close to what they wanted.

I started noting roughly where the gains were for each input, and set those appropriately. And I would dial up a rough mix just to get them started.

Today we're going to continue our series on the electrical side of sound. Last time, we tackled ground loops; their cause and a few solutions. This time around, it's phantom power. Phantom power is one of those often misunderstood aspects of sound. It's one of those things that's really not that complicated once you get it, but up to that point it's a bit of a mystery. So today we take the mystery out of phantom power.

Why Use It?
The first question we need to ask is why use phantom power at all? Strictly speaking, we don't need to, as the only reason we need phantom power is to power condenser microphones. Take all the condensers off stage and you can shut off phantom power forever. But most of us like to use the occasional condenser mic or active DI, so phantom power is necessary. Some condenser mics and active DIs will run on a battery, but if you don't have to power something from a battery, you shouldn't (you know it's going to die at the most inopportune time). It should be noted that it is only condenser mics and active DIs that require phantom power; for all other sources, it's best to turn it off if you have the option to do so on a channel by channel basis.

Phantom power moving from the console to the mic, audio goes the other way. In basic concept, anyway.

]]>Dave HornWed, 08 Jun 2011 14:27:07 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/cta-classroom-phantom-of-the-power10-year-old wows crowd at the NBA Finals - using a Heil PR35 microphone http://geartechs.com/index.php/10-year-old-wows-crowd-at-the-nba-finals-using-a-heil-pr35-microphone
When 10-year-old Julia Dale was rehearsing the Star-Spangled Banner before Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Miami, her soaring rendition caught the ear of the man who would be directing the game later that night on ABC. She had done so well, he decided, that the performance would be carried live on the national broadcast.

Miss Dale's vocal sound was captured for the worldwide audience on a Heil PR35 vocal microphone. The PR35 excels in overall warmth and sound quality, uniformity of its pickup pattern, and its ability to isolate the voice from nearby instruments and other sound sources.

The young Miss Dale didn't disappoint when she got on basketball's biggest stage:

If you'd like more information about the Heil PR35, please give us a call.

The topic for today's post comes from a reader, Jonathan Mould. He wanted to know more about the electrical side of sound. This is an interesting topic because sound is both electrical and physical. Sound systems turn physical movement of air into electrical signals, then process and amplify those signals (sometimes changing them into streams of 1s and 0s and back), and finally turn those amplified signals back into physical air movement. It's all kind of crazy when you think of it that way.

I started this post thinking I could tackle three topics and realized that even a cursory explanation of ground loops would take a whole post. So, you're witnessing the beginning of a series here. First up, Ground Loops.

Ground Loops

To understand ground loops, one must first understand electricity. A full explanation is beyond the scope of this article, but here's a brief description. Standard 120 volt circuits consist of three leads; a hot (current carrying) lead, a neutral (the return) and a ground. To vastly over-simplify, the electricity leaves the panel on the hot lead, travels to the appliance, does some work and returns to the panel on the neutral. The ground is properly called a safety ground and serves one basic function—to send any electricity right back to a safe place (the earth) if anything goes wrong inside the appliance. This is a preferred outcome (as opposed to sending said accidental electricity through your body to the earth).

Electrons go from the panel, to the appliance, do some work and then back to the panel on the neutral leg. This is vastly simplified, OK?

Electricity always wants to get back to ground, or earth, and will always take the path of least resistance. Should there be a short inside an appliance, the chassis of said appliance could become energized. If you touched it and happened to be providing a good path to ground, that current will flow through you. Since it only takes about 20 milliamps to stop your heart, it's very possible that a short like that could kill you. This is why we never...

Last week, Chris Huff had a great post over at Behind the Mixer that explained the differences between pre- and post-fader aux mixes. He said, quite correctly, that you generally want monitor mixes to be pre-fader, and FX sends to be post-fader. I totally agree with that, and run my auxes that way almost all the time.

This post is going to be about when it makes sense to break those rules. Keep in mind that this is a compliment to, not a criticism of Chris's post. But first let's review. You generally want monitor mixes to be pre-fader because you don't want changes made to the house mix affecting the monitor mix; most of the time. Every once in a while, however, that's exactly what you want. Let's look at some examples.

]]>Dave HornTue, 17 May 2011 12:02:30 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/cta-classroom-set-auxes-to-postHeil PR22UT - pro audio's best kept secrethttp://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-pr22ut-pro-audios-best-kept-secret
Quietly about a year ago, Heil Sound did something remarkable. Not so much in a technical way, but in a practical way.

The microphone business is tough. Certain models have dominated the music scene for years, and it's darn hard for people to change their habits. At the time, the Heil PR22 microphone was selling for $165, and was quickly increased to $182.

When the world's most popular microphones sell for $99.95 (and there are 3-4 good ones right at that price point), I had to admit that I was disappointed. $99.95 is a magic price point. Pastors and tech directors don't need approval to spend $99.95, $99.95 seems like the "right" price for a mic, and the list goes on. $99.95 just works in the same way that gasoline at $3.999 is somehow cheaper than gas at $4.00.

So what did Heil Sound do? The people there decided to package the PR22 without the fancy carrying case and without the extra black and extra gold windscreens and called it the PR22UT.

UT stands for utility. It has a nickel colored windscreen and comes in a simple vinyl bag with a mic clip. The price?

I was about to start this article off with the phrase, "A few weeks ago..." but then I realized it was actually a few months ago now. Anyway, a few months ago, we had the privilege of hosting Camron Ware at Coast Hills as he did a hands-on demonstration of Environmental Projection (EP). Camron is a great guy; very knowledgeable and very humble. He will say he didn't invent EP, but he certainly has been a driving force in helping churches all over the world get up and running with EP systems and media.

When I was approached about hosting this event, I was a little concerned that our room would not be conducive to EP as the front of our auditorium is a mishmash of curtains, walls, screens, angles and the stage. It didn't take long to find I was wrong. The first thing Camron did was to set up three projectors. Two were supplied by a local vendor (a pair of Chrisite 5Ks). The other one arrive with Camron in a suitcase. No kidding. He walked in with a rolling suitcase in tow, and pulled out a projector the size of two pizza boxes. Made by Hitachi, it spits out 4000 lumens and costs about $2,000. I believe this is the one: Hitachi CP-X4021N LCD Video Projector.

After connecting all three projectors to his MacBook Pro using a TripleHead2Go from Matrox, he threw up this very cool grid in Photoshop. He created this to help him create the mask he uses in ProPresenter to mask out the areas he doesn't want to project on. He spent about 10 minutes creating the mask, though he conceded that in a real installation or bigger show, he might spend quite a bit more time getting it dialed in perfectly.

A few months ago, I wrote a post called The 90% Principle. In that post, I postulated that most of the time, getting a project 90% (or so) of the way done is a solid game plan. I still hold to that principle; but once in a while an opportunity presents itself to work on that last 10%. For me, that was Easter week. At Coast Hills, we have two types of services during Easter week—two very powerful, no-spoken-word Good Friday services, and five great, celebratory Easter services. Thanks to a variety of factors, I was able to spend a good deal of time working on the mixes for those two services.

The first factor was that we’ve radically overhauled and upgraded our infrastructure since last year. This made set up and rehearsal go very smoothly. I also had a great team in place, which meant that I could really focus almost all my energy on being the audio director for the week. That, combined with our relatively new SD8 and virtual soundcheck system meant I could spend two entire mornings refining our mixes.

Normally, we don’t do a mid-week rehearsal for our weekend services. So even though we record one service a week in multi-track, it’s really more for training than anything else. But this week, we had a Tuesday night rehearsal for Easter, and a Thursday rehearsal for Good Friday. I tracked both rehearsals, then spent the morning after tweaking. I have to say, it was a lot of fun.

Now, it should be noted that the mixes didn’t get radically better as I tweaked.

I’ll admit it. I’m spoiled. For the last several years, I’ve had the opportunity to mix on digital consoles. One of the benefits of most digital consoles is the EQ section; typically a full 4-band parametric plus a variable high pass filter. Frankly, I’ve gotten so used to it that it’s tends to be a bit of a shock when I work on an analog desk that’s not so equipped. It occurred to me the other day that many of you live in that world all the time so I thought I would share some thoughts on making the most of limited EQ.

The first thing to keep in mind is that getting good sound at the source is of paramount importance. Often times, simply moving a mic an inch or two to the left or right; or closer or farther will clean up 80% of what you need to fix. Choosing the correct mic is also important. For example, if your vocalist has a sibilant voice, perhaps there is a mic in your locker that rolls off some high end. Swap mics and perhaps you no longer need that narrow notch at 8K in the EQ that you can’t have anyway. Sometimes you’d like to get more punch from the kick mic; instead of turning EQ knobs...

One of the most interesting (at least to me) announcements at NAMM was EV’s new line of self- and un-powered speakers, the LiveX. They were a direct shot at QSC’s K-Series, and come in at a compelling price point; roughly $200 a box less than a comparable K-speaker. Based on the demo we heard in their small demo room, I was very interested. This was a timely announcement as we are in the process of upgrading our PA in our student room. The existing JBL Eons are just not doing it, and it’s time to make a change. Though we were told the speakers were in stock and ready to ship, that turned out to be marketing-speak. It took a few months of wrangling, but the truck finally delivered two palates of speakers to my dock. It was an exciting day.

Since the K-series is sort of the new standard in this category, it seemed fitting to compare the LiveX to those.

Last year, I wrote a series on rechargeable batteries. I’ve long been a proponent of them, having started using them in wireless mics in 2006. In that series of posts, I did some pretty extensive testing to see exactly how long two modern, NiMh AA batteries would run a Shure UHF-R mic with an SM58 capsule on it (with music played through a wedge to simulate the mic processing audio). I compared the run time to a brand new Duracell ProCell (considered the standard for alkaline–aka disposable–batteries). I expected the NiMh batteries to hold their own against the ProCell, as I’ve had good experience with them for years. What I did not expect is for the ProCells to be completely trounced by the rechargeable cells.

In that test, the best NiMh cells ran for 14 hours before the mic switched off. The ProCell only managed 9.75 hours before going dead. So not only do rechargeable batteries save you a bunch of money, they also run longer than a ProCell (by over 4 hours!).

Faced with that clear and decisive victory, many people made the switch. However, some remained unconvinced. “Let’s see how they hold up in a year,” was a comment I heard often. So here we are, one year later. This time...

Some time ago, I was trying to watch a show on the DIY network the other day about sustainable building practices. Those close to me know that I’m really into building. It’s been a hobby out of control for a long time, really, so I was very interested in the content of the program. However, I had to stop watching because I became so annoyed with the editor’s attempt to use every single transition his editing package came with (and perhaps a few third party ones…). Even my wife was irritated by it, which says a lot. Some of the transitions were really cool and had they been used sparingly, would have been great. The problem was, the transitions got in the way of the message. After 10 minute of yelling, “STOP!” I had to turn it off.

Back in the old days of editing (the real old days of cutting film with a razor and taping it together), cuts were pretty much all an editor had to work with. Even dissolves took a lot of work. This was fine however, because editors developed a language of editing in which cuts ruled and dissolves marked the transition from one scene to another (or a change of time)

Today, now that editing has become very easy and hundreds of transitions are just a mouse click away, many editors find themselves afflicted with ET—Excessive Transitionitis. Thankfully, there is a cure...

For a few months, Blue Microphones has been working behind the scenes with Jimmy Iovine’s team at Interscope Records and Beats by Dre to create a world class microphone for on-stage use by the contestants of American Idol. Beginning with the performances of March 1, American Idol debuted this new wireless microphone custom-built specifically for this season’s performers. Combining the sonic detail, clarity, and unique head design of Blue’s enCORE 300, the style of Beats by Dre, and pioneering new digital wireless technology from Line 6, this innovation is rocking the American Idol stage!

This custom wireless microphone system is not available for sale. Check out the solid Line 6 lineup here. It's as close as you can get. In stock for immediate shipment!

Soundcheck time can be one of the most productive times of the weekend from an audio standpoint. It can also be one of the most frustrating. I have seen a soundcheck turn normally mild-mannered and reserved musicians and engineers into angry combatants. My brothers, this should not be. Soundcheck can be very efficient, productive and dare I say fun; but we have to do a little work first. Because there are so many different ways to do a soundcheck (and so many different church situations), I’m not going to prescribe one “perfect” way. What I want to do instead is offer a series of suggestions that hopefully apply to all situations, and you can create your own plan. Sound good? Here we go…

]]>Dave HornTue, 01 Mar 2011 10:10:42 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/cta-classroom-the-soundcheckHeil RC Capsules Catching Onhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-rc-capsules-catching-on
The Heil RC 35 and 22 wireless capsules have become a fantastic solution to improving existing screw-on wireless handheld transmitters. Country superstars Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood were among the first to jump in. Up and coming country star Easton Corbin just took delivery of an RC 35. Myles Kennedy, with Slash's band, just ordered two. Big Time Rush (those of you with kids will know the group) took four RC's on a promotional tour of Europe. Stone Temple Pilots, Paul Rodgers, Third Eye Blind and the Palm Springs Follies are all using RCs on their wireless rigs.

]]>Dave HornTue, 01 Mar 2011 09:55:11 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-rc-capsules-catching-onBuying better gear will save you money. http://geartechs.com/index.php/buying-better-gear-will-save-you-money
Americans are wired to want it now, to want something for nothing, to think about the short term at the expense of the long-term. Agree?

Maybe I'm crazy. I know that the best gear costs more than the cheapest gear, but hear me out on this one.

The other day, I realized that I use equipment, some of which is 20 years old, and that works perfectly. Over the course of 20 years, obsolescence takes its toll on electronics, but lots of pieces still work. I have a friend with a Roland Vocoder from 1985 and a Roland SDE-1000 digital delay. He might even have an original Alesis Midiverb and Midifex. How about SM58 microphones and Atlas MS20 microphone stands from 1983, circa 1990 Beyerdynamic M300 and M201 microphones and GST500 boom stands? They all work.

Today we’re going to take a quick look at a characteristic of directional microphones called the Proximity Effect.

The proximity effect is one that exists in microphones with any of the cardioid (cardioid, super-cardioid, hyper-cardioid, ultra-intersellar-cardioid—OK, I made that last one up…) patterns. As the mic is moved closer to the sound source, the low end response of the mic is boosted.

Sample vocal mic response graph.

On this graph, the solid line represents the response of the mic at 12” from the sound source. The dashed line shows the response at 2”, and it’s clear how much the lower octaves are boosted. This can be desirable for vocals, as it tends to add warmth and a nice bottom sound. However, those boosted lower frequencies can also be overpowering and cause the sound to get what we often call “muddy.” Clarity can suffer at times depending on the vocal and the sound quality of the mic.

We need to be aware of the proximity effect for two reasons. First...

First, when we’re using cardioid vocal mics (and we almost always are), if we’re hearing excessive low end in the vocal, we know exactly where to roll off that low end to bring it back down to a more manageable level. Second, if a vocalist is moving the mic all over the place, near and far, the low end response is going to change. That makes it difficult to get a consistently good sound. At that point, we need to have a quick discussion with them (and not via the talkback mic…) about holding the mic at a more consistent distance from their mouth.

It’s important to note that the proximity effect isn’t all bad. We can take advantage of it when we need some extra low end. Keeping guitar mics right close to the cabinet will help emphasize the lower registers. And if we’re getting too much low end, before reaching for the EQ, try pulling the mic back a little bit.

The same can go for drum mics. Experiment with moving them closer and farther from the drum heads to see what kind of sound you get. Typically they work best pretty close, but sometimes backing them off just a little will clean up the low end overtones. Other times, keeping them really tight will help emphasize the low end (especially in floor toms) and give you some extra oomph.

I like to take a look at the frequency response graphs of mics I’m using to get an idea of how they will respond at various distances. Some manufacturers are really good at providing good data, others are not. However, more information is always better, so take a look at your mic manuals, or search them out on the manufacturer’s websites. Having a good idea of how your mics react will help you get the most out of them.

]]>Dave HornTue, 22 Feb 2011 12:30:18 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/cta-classroom-the-proximity-effectControl StudioLive mixers with multiple iPads!http://geartechs.com/index.php/control-studiolive-mixers-with-multiple-ipads
With their new free iPad app, "front of house" can be anywhere in your church! Up to 10 praise band musicians can control their own monitor mixes.

Introducing StudioLive Remote, the free iPad app that works with any PreSonus digital mixer. It gives you hands-on control of channel levels, mutes, panning, EQ and more for multiple channels at once. Click for a closeup Fat Channel view. Tweak monitor mix levels, panning and processing. Adjust the graphic EQ's, well...graphically.

Combine Studio Live Remote with Capture (2-click multitrack recording program), VSL, plus Studio One artist DAW, and your church has the most versatile, affordable live mixing/recording solution ever.

Get the whole story here.

And then get a StudioLive. We've got them in stock for immediate shipment!

Imagine allowing your sound technicians and your individual musicians to have control of your StudioLive anywhere in the room. Think of it as a "free" personal monitor mixer with no wires required.

]]>Dave HornTue, 08 Feb 2011 09:41:56 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/control-studiolive-mixers-with-multiple-ipadsHow can I reduce stage volume? http://geartechs.com/index.php/how-can-i-reduce-stage-volume
Since many churches aren’t large enough to have the acoustic volume from the stage diminish into the space of a large auditorium, the only feasible answer is to drastically reduce the acoustic volume of instruments, amplifiers, and monitors so that the sound in the public seating area is both manageable and not too loud.

The main offender in most cases is the volume of the drums. There are two choices to take care of that, and drummers don’t often like either of them. You can switch to electronic drums or you can put the drum set inside or behind a drum shield or isolation booth. Both can cut acoustic volume dramatically. If you choose the shield or isolation route, be prepared to buy some microphones.

I can hear you know, “if the drums are too loud, why on earth would I spend money to reduce the volume and then to increase it again?” That’s a fair question.

Inside an isolation booth, the congregation won’t hear any direct sound from the drum set. Using microphones will allow you to bring back just enough presence to make the sound the way you want it to be.

Electronic drum sets are another topic. No matter what anyone says, nothing feels like a real drum. Nothing sounds like a real drum. But the reality is that most electronic kits have better sounds than most churches are able to create with any combination of shields, isolation, microphones, processing, etc.

The drummer won’t like it, at least initially, but most everyone else will. Sometimes, we have to sacrifice. Seriously.

Minimizing the drum volume may take care of the issue for many of you by reducing the need for higher volumes to be heard over the drum kit. If not, your next most likely offenders are instrument amplifiers. Again, you have two choices; electronic emulation and isolation.

Tech 21 makes its SansAmp series of pedals that do really nice guitar amplifier emulation of well-known brands like Fender, Vox, Marshall, Orange, and more. They’re $149-299.95 and they work really well. Many guitar and bass players won’t want to give up their amps, but again, you might find that “giving up” a $299 practice amp for something that emulates a $1500 tube amplifier might not be a sacrifice after all.

Your other choice is to use an amplifier isolation booth, which will cut the volume in half. Again, you’ll need a microphone to pick up the sound that’s hiding inside the isolation booth, but that’s the price that you have to pay.

With those sources under control in terms of volume, you might find that the monitor speakers can continue to be used. If the monitor volume is still too loud, your only other solution is to go with what some call a Quiet Stage and to have all of your platform participants using in-ear monitors or headphones.

The possibilities for how to do in-ear monitors are endless. There are wired systems, wireless systems, systems with personal mixing (each user or group of users controls their own sound), systems that are simply extensions of your existing audio mixing console based around headphone amps.

To discuss specific solutions, give us a call. We’ve used and/or tried lots of things and everything that you’ve read about above has solved some problem for someone we know, alone or in combination with other products.

The battle is almost as old as the church sound system. It has always baffled me that the pipe organ can be played at 100dB, but that when the band plays at 100dB, it's often "too loud." We're not here today to define how loud is "loud enough" or "too loud" for the acoustic volume of your worship service, but to help figure out how much difference there should be between what your congregation hears from the main sound system and what the congregation hears from the monitor speakers, instruments, and amplifiers on the platform, in order to hear the sound system with acceptable clarity.

To allow optimal clarity of sound in the seating area, the main sound system needs to be about 25dB SPL louder than the volume from the monitors, instrument amplifiers, and acoustic instruments. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is.

If the platform participants require monitor volume that spills over into the main seating area at 90dB SPL, your main speaker system must be about 115dB SPL to compensate.

An average sound pressure level of 115dB is much too loud for long periods and impossible to attain in most settings, so it makes sense that the monitor volume (as it relates to the room) must be reduced in order to improve the overall clarity of the system.

Managing the acoustic sound from live drums, live instrument amplifiers, and associated monitor volumes can be a nightmare. Guitar amps sound best when they’re wide open (loud) and a guitar player’s sound is his or her signature. Same with the bass player and the drummer.

Have you noticed how much more tone a drum set has when it’s played hard than when it’s played lightly? Therein lies the problem.

Everything sounds better when they’re loud enough. Unfortunately “loud enough” on stage often forces the sound technician to balance the “it’s too loud” snarls from the audience with making the mix feel good out front.

Everybody knows that the purpose of lighting in the church is to put light on the stage, right? I know a lighting director (from my high school musical days) who said his rule of thumb for stage lighting is to, “flood the stage, and make ‘em pink” Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of churches follow the same advice. I’m not sure that’s the best use of light, however. In fact, I would argue that the most creative and effective lighting I have seen includes as much non-light as light. Let me explain.

What is the first thing your eye is drawn to in this picture?

Visual Theory
As humans, our eyes are pre-programmed to jump to the brightest thing in our field of view. Try it out for yourself. In a darkened room, with one or two sources of light (the living room at night with a tv on works well), drop your gaze to the floor, then look up. See where your eyes go. More likely than not, they darted to the lightest thing in the room. In my living room right now, when I look up I see the tv.

So if our eyes are drawn to the brightest thing in the room, what else is drawn there as well?

]]>Dave HornSat, 05 Feb 2011 10:34:36 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/cta-classroom-let-there-be-light-or-notThe 90 Percent Principlehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/the-90-percent-principle
Editors Note: To the chagrin of some, we operate on the 90% principle. The reality is that it's simply good stewardship to realize when eeking out those incremental performance gains isn't worth it. Mike's column is a refreshing take from someone who's charged with spending other people's money while still doing his job at the high level that's demanded of him. Thanks Mike, for putting our unwritten philosophy into words.

The 90% Principle

I’ve been working on this post in my head for a long time. The basic concept for this post is the law of diminishing returns. This law states that as you continue to put time/energy/money/effort into a project, at some point the return you receive for the increased effort is no longer worth it. It’s sort of like a compressor; put 2 dB in, get 1 dB out. Turn up the ratio and put 4 dB in, get 1 dB out. Diminishing returns.

The 90% principle is an attempt to quantify the threshold. That is, at what point does it stop making sense to keep working on or spending money on something. As you can guess, I suggest that point is 90%. But 90% of what? Let’s say that 100% is perfect, the best something can possibly be, whether it’s a product (like a speaker system), or a project (like a video edit). My supposition here is that once we get to 90% of perfect, we can generally stop. To the perfectionists out there, this sounds like heresy, but stick with me for a few minutes.

Real World ExampleLet’s take the case of a speaker system. I chose this for two reasons: A) The number of choices in the category make it easy to develop this illustration, and B) I’m in the market for a new PA so this has been on my mind a lot. So, let’s start off defining 100%. The 100% mark is going to be the absolute best (most musical, most even coverage, flattest frequency and phase response, etc.) PA you can find. For this case, I’m not going to define it further than that. Regardless of what PA you choose as 100%, it’s going to cost you some coin. What I’ve normally found is that opting for 90% instead of 100% will probably only cost 50-60% of the 100% system. So, you might save nearly half and still get 90% of the performance.

Here’s another one: Consider a video edit. I’ve edited a lot of videos over the years, both when I owned my own company and for various churches. We used to have a saying, “A video is never finished, it’s abandoned.” When I think of nearly every video I’ve ever cut, I can think of things I would change. Subtle tweaks to edits, minor soundtrack fixes, graphic adjustments, the like. Those changes didn’t get made because we ran out of time or budget. And honestly, the vast majority of people wouldn’t really notice them anyway. In many of those cases, we probably got 90-95% of “perfect.” The rest we had to let go.

Why 90%?

Now, here’s why I suggest that 90% is a fair stopping point: I believe that most people in the pews can’t resolve any differences above 70%, give or take. Sure, there may be a few people out there that could see or hear the difference between the absolute best and 80%, but most of the time, it will only be us, the trained professionals, who can discern the critical differences.

Again, this idea may be raising the ire of perfectionists everywhere, and as a recovering perfectionist, I understand. Here’s the deal; I’m not advocating mediocrity. I’m advocating excellence—but not extravagance. And if you stop and think about it, I’m actually suggesting going above and beyond what most people can see and hear by a margin of almost 30% (90 is 28% more than 70…).

Quite often, trying to push your way to the final 10% of perfection will take just as much effort and cash as getting to the first 90%. So what I’m suggesting is that we really stop and evaluate if that is worth it.

Returning to ExamplesNow let’s go back to our examples. Take PAs; for our room, we could easily spend nearly $200,000 on a PA to get the absolute best there is. However, I’m pretty confident we can get 90% of that performance for around $100,000. And the reality is, both of those systems would be a massive upgrade over what we have now. Moreover, I would suggest that almost no one in the congregation would be able to tell much of a difference between the two. Would I be able to? I would hope so; that’s what I’m paid for. But Sal and Sally Pewsitter? I doubt it. So is it worth an extra $100,000 for a difference most can’t hear? Perhaps not.

Or how about our video. Let’s say working a full day on the video would get it to 90% of perfection. Now, at this point, we can go home and spend the evening with our family or stick around until midnight and get to 95%. Is that worth it? Again, I suggest that most people would have thought it was “perfect” at 3 PM.

It’s possible that in some cases it’s worth spending the extra time an energy to get to 100%. However, we have a limited amount of time and resources available, and perhaps it’s a better use of that time and money to wrap it up at 90%. Consider; saving $100,000 on a PA might buy a really nice console, some great mics and have money left over to do some good in the community. In the big picture, that might be a better option.

This is not a hard and fast rule; but it’s one that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. What’s really important? What are we as a church really called to do? How can we maximize what we’re given to the greatest good? Can we find away to get out from behind our desks and spend more time with volunteers? Or our families? Give it some thought, see what you think.

I’ve been thinking about IMAG (Image Magnification) lately. We currently use IMAG at Coast Hills, and I’ve done a ton of it during my career. As I read through the stack of church production type magazines I get each month, it is clear more churches are moving into the IMAG arena. It makes sense, as worship rooms get larger (it seems that 2000+ room are becoming more common), there is a need to help those in the service see those on the platform. I’ve shot 200 some concerts as well as a few dozen other events, and here are few things I learned along the way.

The image on the screen should be bigger than in real life.
Seems obvious, right? But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked up at the screen and noticed that the image of the speaker is smaller than the speaker is in real life. The reason is simple:

Directing for IMAG is different than directing for a tape or broadcast mix. Most directors (and camera ops) are uncomfortable staying as tight as they need to for effective IMAG. There is a tendency to pull out and show the overall scene. But think about this—if you’re seated 150? from the platform, you already see the overall scene; what you want is a close up of the speaker so you can see their facial expressions.

The other challenge with staying as tight as we need to has to do with lenses. Long telephoto lenses are expensive, but they are necessary to getting a useful shot. My rule of thumb is this: A standard IMAG shot needs to be head to waist or closer. Ideally, you should be able to go head and shoulders. If all you can get is a head to foot, you will not have an effective IMAG experience (unless you have mammoth screens).

Shot selection should make sense.
If you’re shooting a speaker who stands at a podium, you really don’t need to keep switching shots. I’ve sat through events shot with 5 cameras, and because there were 5 cameras there, the director felt the need to use all five, all the time. Again, consider the goal of IMAG—to show distant viewers a close up of the speaker. Cutting back and forth between cameras for no reason is distracting.

If the speaker walks the front of the platform, having three cameras, house left, center and right, will allow you the opportunity to cut to the camera that the speaker is facing. But if the speaker pauses at stage left, don’t switch to the house left (stage right) camera just to “change it up.”

If you are shooting a worship team or a band, the focus of the IMAG should be the worship leader or lead singer. Having multiple stationary cameras in the house allow you to highlight different instruments or other vocalists occasionally, and adding a handheld stage camera makes that more effective. However, keep in mind that the people in the congregation didn’t come to see a close up of the bass guitar player’s fingers. That can be a very cool shot—for a second or two between phrases of a song. But please, don’t spend an entire verse there (unless you are using instruments as a background for lyrics, which is a whole different style).

When cutting a worship team, the cuts should follow the music. A soulful rendition of Amazing Grace doesn’t require (or benefit from) 30 cuts a minute. However, an upbeat tune like Dancing Generation could be enhanced by a few extra cuts here and there.

IMAG and broadcast mixes are different and need to be treated as such.There is a temptation to combine the two functions, IMAG for the worship center and a “broadcast” mix for the in-house CCTV network for cry rooms, or hallway monitors. This is rarely optimal, however. As mentioned previously, IMAG needs to be close up shots. A broadcast mix needs a mix of closeups and establishing shots. For years I was stage camera op for a music festival in Ohio. We were supposed to be there for IMAG—our shots were projected onto huge 30? screens for those at the back of the 10,000 person crowd. However, the director wanted to make live concert videos. They looked great when we watched the tapes at home, but the crowd was gypped. That wide sweeping shot of the crowd that moved up to the stage (using the 30? crane) looked really cool, but the poor folks in the back already had that view. They wanted to see Toby Mac, not the people in the first 15 rows.

It sounds like I’m repeating myself, and I am. It’s important to think of IMAG as IMAG and broadcast as broadcast (regardless of how it’s “broadcast”).

Regardless of what you’re shooting, or how you’re mixing, you need the right equipment. Few things are more frustrating than trying to pull together a good video mix using equipment that was not designed for it. In a future post, I’ll give you some of my thoughts on the equipment you’ll need if you want to get into live video.

It’s Friday and that must mean it’s time to go back to class. This week, I’m reviving a post I wrote a long time ago. I’ve not written much on video lately, which is a shame because it’s what I spent most of my professional life doing. So here are a few tips on improving the quality of your videos with the use of a tripod.

Have you ever had this experience? Someone hands you a tape that was shot on a missions trip, or student event, or other ministry outing. You are requested to go through said tape and “make a video.” This happened to me some time ago. It was a student missions trip to New York City. Since it was student ministries, we sent them off with a small, Digital-8 camcorder. As I scanned through the 2 hours of footage, looking for a shot (yup, a shot), I thought about the need for a tripod. You see, all the footage was shot with the camera moving. It never stopped. Just watching it gave me vertigo. Out of 2 hours, I found less than 3 minutes of usable footage. Now, this is not to pick on our intrepid camera man here, but let’s talk about how to avoid this.

Here’s the deal—watch some TV, or a few films and here’s what you’ll find (save the “reality shows”): You’ll find well composed, static shots. Most of the time, the camera doesn’t move and if it does, it’s on a tripod, SteadiCam, dolly or crane. If and when it does move, it moves slowly and smoothly. Doing this takes practice and good equipment. A while back, I wrote a post called, Being Excellent with Less. In that post I suggested that if we don’t have the personnel or equipment to do a certain task, we should scale the task back to the point where we can achieve excellence. Don’t have a $50,000 Chapman crane for your camera? Then put it on a tripod and work with what you have. Don’t have a tripod? Get creative—the most usable footage we got from the students was when the camera was set on a table and the students shared their experiences.

If you don’t have a tripod, you really should get one. They’re not that expensive in the grand scheme of things, and I would suggest it will make the second biggest improvement in your videos (microphones are #1). For a few hundred dollars you can pick up a tripod that will deliver excellent results with smaller DV and HDV cameras. Check out some of the lower-cost offerings from Manfrotto. They’re not nearly as good as my favorite Vintens, but they’re a whole lot better than trying to handhold your shots. If budgets are really tight, you could even use a super-cheap photography tripod; though they won’t pan and tilt very smoothly, it will at least hold your camera steady.

I’m guessing a lot of the readers of this blog don’t have a bunch of professional experience shooting videos, yet you are being asked (or are volunteering) to make them for an audience ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. If that’s the case, how can you go about improving your work? First, realize there is very little truly original video out there. For the most part, there are accepted rules, and methods that generate good results. So watch some professionally produced programs (they’re free on TV!). But don’t watch them for the story line (at least not for this exercise), watch them for the technical production details. How did they frame the shot? How does the camera move? What angles did they use? How is it lit? Where was the camera placed in the scene? How do the people in the program interact with the camera?

I’ll let you in on a secret: professionals do this all the time. I once cribbed a really cool visual effect from CSI: Miami for use in a video for one of our students. I was watching a show on Discovery channel and saw a lower third title treatment I liked and created a similar look for another video. When I watch a film with really good cinematography, I will watch it again and study what the cinematographer did. Then I look for opportunities to use some of those techniques.

Here’s the why: The people sitting in our churches every week watch TV too, and they have high expectations. Imagine a couple coming into a church for the first time in many years only to see a poorly produced video that bounces all over the place, with poor audio, bad color and is poorly projected. Will that keep them from returning? I don’t know—but it can’t help. Remember, our job in the Technical Arts is to remove all barriers to an authentic worship experience. That’s why it matters.

We'd like to welcome Mike Sessler as a content contributor to the Geartechs.com site. Mike is the creator of the ChurchTechArts blog and it's a privilege that we can share his insights with you.

Mike is currently the Technical Arts Director at Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo, CA. He has nearly 20 years of experience working in churches and providing excellent sound, lighting and video. As a system designer, engineer and creative content producer, Mike enjoys nothing more than using the gifts given him by God for the benefit of the local church. As a speaker, author and trainer, his reach has been extended beyond the community he calls home.

With an infectious dedication to excellence, he thoroughly enjoys helping others create the best worship experience. Normally quiet and reserved, if asked to “talk tech,” he will go on for hours. He is also known for writing about himself in the third person (in order to appear humble).

**Important Safety Tip: Even though Mike is currently on staff at Coast Hills, the views expressed are not necessarily those of the church, though hopefully they will line up more often than not…**

Make sure to check out Mike's first CTA Classroom article with us here.

Since it’s a new year, I’m going to change things up on the blog. I’ve noticed that my posts have gotten increasingly esoteric, and possibly only relevant to a small set of readers. So I’m going to set aside Friday’s post as more educational that will hopefully be useful to a wider cross-section. Rather than get all geeky talking about snapshots and scope and automation, we’ll hit things like using groups, gain structure, basic lighting techniques, presentation tricks and probably even some video tips. With that brief introduction, let’s get started. Today’s topic: Using Groups.

Groups DefinedA group, sometimes called a subgroup, is basically another mix bus that you can send the output of channel faders to. You could say that the Main Left and Right is a group—a stereo group typically. The signal comes into the input channels, the gain is set, it’s EQ’d and finally the output goes through the fader to a group; either the L&R main output— sometimes there’s a Mono option also—or you may have anywhere between 4-12 groups.

Most analog boards over 16 channels have at least 4 groups. Larger desks often have 8, the biggest may have 12. Typically, these are mono groups, though most of the time the output of the group can be panned left or right so if you use two of them you can build a stereo group. Usually, the output of the group is fed to the L&R mix, though some boards offer group outputs as well. If there is a matrix mix on board, the inputs of the matrix are usually the groups (including L&R).

Using GroupsTo send a channel to a group, you typically push a button somewhere in the channel strip to assign that channel to the group. To save button count, there are normally half as many buttons as there are groups (plus a L&R button). If you want to assign the channel to Group 1, you would push the 1/2 button and pan the channel hard left. To get to Group 2, same button, panned hard right.

Often, the groups automatically are assigned to the L&R mix. Sometimes you have to engage a switch to send it there. If you’re unsure, break out the manual (blow the dust off it first…). Normally you can pan the group if you want.

It’s important that you un-assign the channel from the L&R mix if you’re going to be using groups. Otherwise, you double the channel’s level at the L&R mix, risking overload, and negate the purpose of using groups. If you’ve been playing with groups and come in one day to find no signal coming out of a particular channel, check the group assign switches.

Why Groups?

If you’re mixing to a mono or stereo system, it might seem like more work to use the groups; why not just send everything straight to the L&R mix? Well, you certainly can. However, if you have more than a few instruments on stage, or if you have a band plus a choir plus a number of people speaking each weekend, the use of groups can really make your life easier.

There are dozens of ways you can use groups and I won’t even begin to try to list them all in one post. I will present you a few examples of things I’ve tried which will hopefully give you some ideas. First up, consider a basic 4-group board such as a Mackie 1604VLZ (or the current 1642 VLZ3), a Yamaha MG32FX, or an A&H 2400 series.

Allen & Health GL 2400

A Four Group OptionWith four groups, you can’t break things up too much. But you can make them useful. Consider this layout:

Group 1: Drums

Group 2: Guitars

Group 3: Keyboards

Group 4: Vocals

In this situation, you would assign all your drum mics to group 1, all your guitars to group 2, and so on. Anything that doesn’t fall into those categories gets sent straight to the L&R mix. The advantage of doing this is that you can now move entire sections of your mix around at once. If the drums are feeling too loud in the mix, you can pull them all back, while retaining the balance you’ve set up between the mics. Need some more keys? Push the group up and you’ll get both piano and synth, again, maintaing the relationship between them you set on the faders.

One other thing you can do is group compression. If you don’t have 32 channels of compression for every input channel (and with an analog board, you probably don’t), you can insert a comp on the group. When I was mixing on a Soundcraft Series Two 32-channel desk with 6 channels of outboard comp, I typically had one patched in on my Vocals group. It’s not as ideal as compressing each singer individually, and you do need to be careful how much you compress (that’s another post), but a few dB of gain reduction on the vocal group can keep untrained singers from getting out of place in the mix. Remember, less is more here, and the upside of compressing everything as a group is also the downside; everything gets compressed. A few dB of group comp on the drums can really help glue that together in the mix as well.

An added benefit is that you can now shut the entire band off in the house by pulling down four faders. Note that the group faders will not affect aux sends, so if the channels faders are still up and the channels un-muted, sound will still come out of the monitors. That may or may not be what you want depending on your situation.

Yamaha IM8-32

An Eight Group OptionIf your board offers eight groups, you have some more flexibility. Here’s how we had our Series Two laid out:

Group 1: Speaking Mics

Group 2: Vocals

Group 3: Drums

Group 4: Guitars

Group 5: Keys

Group 6: Brass Section or Vocal Team (varied by week)

Group 7&8: Stereo for CD, iTunes and Video playback

With this type of set up, you can easily tweak the mix using just the groups. Once the overall mix balance is set up, adjustments can be made on the groups to highlight different sections of the band for different songs. Having mixed for a few more years since then, here’s how I may lay it out today:

Group 1: Kick & Bass

Group 2: Rest of Drums

Group 3: Guitars

Group 4: Keys

Group 5: Brass or Vocal Team

Group 6: BGVs

Group 7: Worship Leader(s)

Group 8: Drama mics

I would sent speaking mics to the main L&R mix, along with all playback. The reason for putting the kick and bass together is that those two form the foundation of the mix. Since they’re tied together musically, it makes sense to control them together. I wouldn’t try to group compress them, however. If you did, every time the kick would hit, the bass would drop down. Better to use individual comps or none at all.

Other AdvantagesIf you have a matrix, breaking your band up to feed the matrix can be very useful. For example, let’s say you have some ceiling speakers in the lobby or a cry room. Sending the entire house mix to those speakers may cause distortion from all the low end, or the vocals may not be clear. But let’s feed it from a matrix that’s fed from the groups. In this case, you could lower the level of Group 1 and perhaps slightly bump the level of the vocals. If all your channels don’t end up in groups, you can start by sending the main L&R mix to the matrix, then supplement with additional groups to get the mix you need—“subtraction” happens by not adding a particular group to the matrix. Groups give you a lot of flexibility.

I could go on for another thousand words, but I’ll call it quits for now. Obviously, I’ve only scratched the surface of the use of groups, but as I said at the beginning, my intention was not to be exhaustive, but suggest some ideas that will get you thinking.

]]>Dave HornFri, 07 Jan 2011 16:41:26 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/cta-classroom-using-groupsWhat's an Underhead Drum Microphone?http://geartechs.com/index.php/whats-an-underhead-drum-microphone
An overhead drum microphone? Sure. Ever heard of an "underhead" microphone? From what some would tell, Bob Workman (the Front of House engineer for Charlie Daniels) invented the concept.

For visual reasons, people have tried to pick up cymbal sounds for years from below the cymbals themselves, but the technique never worked well since most microphones don't have good rear and side rejection. In short, most microphones, if placed in the underhead position pick up the toms, and too much of the rest of the drum kit.

The Heil PR 31 BW came as a result of a suggestion from Bob Workman. Bob uses the Heil PR30 for for many applications, but found it too long, so Bob Workman asked Bob Heil whether he could cut one in half. Bob Heil said yes, and from that discussion, the PR 31 BW was born - a 4" PR 30. Both the PR30 and PR31 BW feature 40 dB of rear and side rejection, so you hear only what the microphone is pointed toward and not what's behind or around it. That creates better isolation, more gain before feedback and a tighter mix.

Flip the PR31 BW over and by using a right angle connector and the HH-1 rim mount, the PR 31BW is the perfect low profile answer for toms, too. Like the PR30, the PR 31BW is fabulous in front of a guitar cabinet, horns and saxophones, inside a Leslie speaker and I've heard rumor of acoustic piano. I haven't tried that yet either.

]]>Dave HornTue, 04 Jan 2011 10:48:29 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/no-budget-tip-3-fighting-the-effects-of-timeDon't turn your iPhone off during worship!http://geartechs.com/index.php/dont-turn-your-iphone-off-during-worship
Virtually every church that projects announcements during its services has a slide of some sort that says something like "Ssh...Please Turn Off Your Cell Phone During Worship." Why?

Well, of course a ringing phone is a distraction, and a conversation from the pews is generally inexcusable, not to mention what a bunch of little radios does to the wireless microphones, unbalanced signal cables, and more.

In short, make sure to leave your iPhone off, unless you're a part of the tech team, and if you are, I have a few tricks to show you.

One of the most exciting is ProRemote from the folks at Renewed Vision. If you're a ProPresenter for Mac user, you'll find ProRemote to be invaluable for those times when you want to control the software via wi-fi from either the presenter's hand or from anywhere away from the computer itself. Pastors, have you ever wanted a remote control so that you could advance your own slides?

Best of all, this one's just $4.99 and it's available from Apple's AppStore. iPhone and iPod Touch users are familiar with how to get there. For more information on ProRemote, please visit Renewed Vision's website. We don't sell it and don't make a dime for mentioning it.

Kramer offers three 9-input presentation video switcher/scalers (used to select from cameras, computers, DVD, VCR, etc. for use on your projection screen) with the ability to be controlled by an iPhone app. The VP-729, VP-730, and VP731 all offer the ability to use your iPhone as a control device. You can change sources, adjust menu and network control settings, and more. Neat stuff. Each has a different set of features, so if you have questions about your specific application, please call for help with product selection.

There you have it; at least three good reasons to not turn off your iPhone during worship. Don't let your pastor know that I said that it was okay. A word to the wise; discover Airplane Mode on the phone very quickly. Do you really need to take calls during worship anyway? Airplane Mode also keeps an incoming phone call from defeating the iPod app while playing a song, if you're using the iPhone or your iPod Touch during pre-worship, post-worship, or when playing a background track.

Apple, iPhone, iPod Touch, and other marks are registered to Apple. Apple gives no endorsement to these products or apps.

Editors note: Tara has a magnificent, strong voice, and the standard capsule on her wireless microphone just couldn't keep up when she really sang with emotion. The improvement in performance was immediately obvious. I heard it myself. If you'd like to check out the Heil RC35 for yourself, please give us a call at 800-747-7301.

There are many good sounding bass amps out there, and I've had a couple nice ones of my own (Ashdown, Ampeg, Eden to be specific). However, when recording I have rarely used a bass amp and as a result end up getting a very clean but fairly sterile sound. I know many friends that like to plug direct into the DI when playing live and also end up with very little "character" in their tone.

I guess using the word "character" is a good segue into the Character Series from Tech 21. I came across the VT Bass pedal and was originally drawn to the cosmetic of the box. It looked like an SVT grill, which I thought was cool, so I tried it.

I could go on and on but let me just say that I have never encountered a pedal (or amp that wasn't filled with tubes and weighed a hundred pounds) that gave me that "dynamic grit" when I played it. By "dynamic grit" I mean that when you dig into the string you get a response that has power, meaning and yes... Character.

I have turned a few friends onto this pedal and they all use it as a direct preamp. I do this as well when recording and in live situations use it as the front end going into my Ashdown MAG300. It has become an integral part of my bass rig.

OK, let's just say I am skeptical of any guitar pedal that proposes to emulate tubes and/or sound like any particular amp. It's a bit gimmicky to me. So I have to say my first choice regarding a new pedal would not have been the Tech 21 Blonde. However, after hearing the buzz surrounding the entire Tech 21 Character series I decided to give the Blonde pedal a try and am most happy I did.

First of all, I can't get over the amount of power in each knob. Truly, each knob does something from 0 to 10... you hear it. That means I have been able to dial in tones ... unique tones at that... to my liking, and with extreme precision. I have no idea what the "Character" knob really does, but I sure like where it takes me.

As a result, I have been able to dial in the most warm and fat R&B tone one could ask for and then grit the thing out like a 70's Bassman. Recently, I set up this pedal to be a lead boost... but not just any lead boost. Many times when you introduce some level of lead boost for sustain and volume you get an unwanted sizzle along with it. The Blonde has given me the warm sustained "buttery" lead tone with harmonic character that I have desired for years to go with my Marshall.

A friend of mine leads a large praise and worship band where he runs the Blonde pedal direct and raves about the results. I have actually done the same, and can attest the sound translates very well. In other words, I could easily do a gig without an amp.

]]>Dave HornWed, 22 Sep 2010 09:48:08 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/tech21-sansamp-character-series-blonde-great-tone-no-amp-requiredHeil Sound PR28 Nominated for a TEC Awardhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-sound-pr28-nominated-for-a-tec-award
New York (September 9, 2010)--The TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio named nominees for the 26th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held Friday, January 14, 2011 at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA.

The nominees are in 17 categories of Technical Achievement in product design; nominees in nine categories of Creative Achievement in sound production will be announced at a later date.

The PR28 is one of our favorite microphones for use on rack toms. At $149, it's barely more expensive than more common alternatives that don't sound nearly as good. Try a PR28; then order as many as you need. Most people end up buying 2-3.

In the last installment, we talked about how the use of proper microphone (mic) technique yields better results at no additional cost. The combination of mic in the right place will help you achieve great sound.

In today’s “No Budget” tips, we’ll talk about some tricks to help you make things sound better.

Nothing destroys a great sounding mix faster than leaving microphones on when they're not in use, or using a microphone with a pick up pattern that's too wide - consequently picking up all kinds of unwanted material along with the source. Ambient noise is an enemy of great live sound.

Don’t get me wrong; when recording, ambience and spill help create a sense of space and dimension that wouldn’t otherwise exist. In live work, however, ambience and space already exist in your auditorium. So what is the best place to start to assure better sound?

So, what exactly are “no-budget tips to improving your sound”? This article is the first in a series about making improvements to your audio mix - improvements that don't require you to spend a dime on new gear.

I realize that these tips may be basic to you but profound to others. Along the way, I'll bet that you find something that you can use. I hope to add a new tip every week...until I run out!

Today's tip: Mic Placement

The best place to start to improve any sound is at the source, but it’s not always possible to replace a whole drum kit, or a player's favorite instrument. Besides, the challenge of sound reinforcement is to accurately reproduce the sound coming from the instrument.

Move the microphone around.

If the sound you are getting isn’t working well for you, the first thing to do is to try moving the microphone around in proximity to the instrument.

For example, if your kick drum doesn’t have enough attack ("click" from the beater), move the microphone closer to the batter head. To deepen the kick sound, move the microphone away from the batter head and you’ll get more low end.

Warming up or clearing up your vocal sound can be just as easy. If you have a vocalist whose voice sounds dull... (click the link below to read the rest of the article)

Liz Wheeler, left, and Vicky Welsh-Bragg rehearse for the Actors' Theatre production of Dark of the Moon at Schiller Park. They'll have to use different wireless microphones.

When the stars of the Columbus Children's Theatre start to sing, a wireless microphone carries their lyrics over the chords of musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar or The Wizard of Oz.

So when the Federal Communications Commission banned a common variety of wireless microphone, it was a problem.

"Now we have very expensive equipment that's worthless," said William Goldsmith, the theater's artistic director. "There are thousands of these microphones around the country that are now worthless."

Goldsmith said the four microphones that the theater had used cost about $1,000 to $2,000 each.

Whether for a sermon, a corporate board meeting, a school assembly or even a children's karaoke machine, wireless microphones that operate on a 700-MHz frequency are out.

"If you're not off it, you need to get off it. This is a matter of public safety," said Matt Nodine, chief of staff of the FCC's wireless telecommunications bureau.

The vast majority of wireless microphones are fine, especially newer equipment. But the FCC identified 3,000 different types of organizations with the problematic microphones. The FCC has more information at www.fcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones.

These microphones use frequencies that existed in the space between the signals from television stations. When TV went digital a year ago, it freed up most of the 700-MHz frequencies.

But once the TV stations were out of the way, companies spent about $19 billion buying up the frequencies in an FCC auction. Large blocks of available frequencies don't pop up often, and they were in demand for new Internet-friendly cellular-phone systems.

The microphones could cause interference when a phone company or a police department tries to use its newly acquired frequency.

"You might be sitting in church listening to the preacher's sermon and a trooper drives by the church, and suddenly you're hearing the trooper's radio traffic instead," said Darryl Anderson, director of the MARCS radio service used by police and safety agencies across the state.

The worst-case scenario is that the police dispatcher would hear the preacher instead of an officer calling for help, although Anderson said that was less likely.

The state's radio system is expanding to the 700-MHz bandwidth so it can take advantage of modern technology. The first eight towers that use that frequency will be going up in Cuyahoga County within the next three months.

FCC officials tried to spread the word in advance, but it still cost microphone users money.

Xenos Christian Fellowship on the North Side spent $8,000 to $10,000 on new equipment, and Faith Life Church in Johnstown had to spend a few thousand dollars.

"I guess it's an excuse to get new stuff," said John Ondo, Faith Life Church's media director. "We weren't hit too bad because we just moved and got a new system, but I'm sure other people had it worse."

Actors' Theatre, which depends heavily on wireless technology for its outdoor performances in Schiller Park, relied entirely on 700-MHz microphones, Artistic Director John S. Kuhn said. The group is halfway to raising the $8,000 needed to replace 12 microphones.

"We're sort of all (affected)," Kuhn said. "Nothing is going to change. The deed has been done, and it's going to have a large impact on so many organizations and nonprofits with no recourse."

Over the past few years, the transition to High Definition digital television has had a dramatic impact on technology for worship and presentation settings. We've seen unprecedented improvements in both video and audio-for-video quality, and we've seen price reductions that make wide-format projectors, switchers, and screens affordable for most churches.

So what's the fuss about wide-format projection? Should you make the change? If so, why?

What I hope to explore in this article are the benefits to using wide-format projectors and screens from a practical standpoint. Current 4:3 standard format video and data projection systems are certainly very good and serve us well.

Let's talk about four reasons that wide-format systems could be a benefit to you, especially if you're starting from scratch.

HDTV - It's fairly obvious that most new video content, whether movies or television, is being produced for wide-format 16:9 displays. New televisions are all 16:9. New program material shot in 4:3 NTSC video is a thing of the past.

New computer screen resolutions - For years, XGA (1024x768) has been the standard screen resolution for virtually all PCs and Macs. In just the last couple years, we've begun to see a W added and now have WXGA (1280x800) and other wide-format computer graphics resolutions. The computer that I'm currently typing on has a native screen resolution of 2560x1440 - which is both 16:9 and beyond-HD resolution. We frequently see that computer screens are wider in order to accommodate video uses. 1280x800 and 1920x1200 are also common.

Wider screens are also typically easier to retrofit into older buildings. Most new worship spaces are designed with video and audio systems in mind. That hasn't always been the case. What we find in older buildings are often low ceilings and awkward spaces into which to integrate a screen. Standard 4:3 screens often have to be installed behind the platform participants, so projected images are consequently blocked from the view at least some of the congregation. Quite simply, wide-format screens can be mounted higher above the platform floor and offer a greater degree of effectiveness.

Easier to read - The most important factor that you may not have considered is that wide-format video equipment will allow you to display more words on each line, to use fewer presentation slides and to have more natural line breaks. Take a look at these images below and you'll see what I mean.

4:3 Ratio Screens

16:9 Ratio Screens

Notice that phrases break more naturally on longer lines and that the layout becomes much more open, attractive, and easier to read.

In just the last year or so, prices for wide-format projectors and switchers have come within reach of many churches. Right now, we have several products that offer you a high-performance yet affordable point of entry to wide-format projection.

In the realm of projection, the Sanyo PLC-WXU700A is a fantastic choice for a starting point. With 3800 ANSI lumens, it offers wide-format, lights-on performance on screen sizes large enough for most auditoriums and sanctuaries. It also features wireless connectivity for those times that you might have a guest presenter with a laptop. The PLC-WXU700A also allows streaming of motion video to the projector over its 802.11 WiFi connection.

If you have multiple video sources like DVD, a computer (or two), video cameras, and maybe an old VCR, the Kramer VP-728 will help you keep things straight. Its scaling function allows you to match the variety of sources to a single output resolution for better consistency. Your computer, DVD, VCR and potential video camera feeds will be formatted to fit your new screen, even if you have as many different formats as you have sources.

Think of the VP-728 as a format conversion devices to help you make seamless transitions between different devices and one that will keep the "No Signal" blue screens from being a part of your worship time.

At $2199 for the PLC-WXU700A and $1196 for the VP-728, you'll find that affordable, high-performance equipment is within your reach. And if it's not, we have other options for smaller screens and less-elaborate set-ups. Wide format projectors start at $939.95 for use on smaller screens.

For more information on how to integrate wide-format images into your worship setting, please call for more information. We're happy to answer questions and to help you get on the road to making the good decisions when faced with the future of the video side of your worship experience.

]]>Dave HornMon, 05 Jul 2010 14:19:14 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/widescreenA note from Randy Lane - Carrie Underwood's Sound Engineerhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/a-note-from-randy-lane-carrie-underwoods-sound-engineer
In a recent talk with Randy Lane, he offered part of his secret to making country music superstar Carrie Underwood sound her best. “I like to make sure that Carrie’s vocal is the focal point, but I’m also trying to make sure that what the band plays on stage is conveyed accurately to the audience,” he says. “ To that end it all starts with the source and the mic reproducing the instrument accurately. Heil mics absolutely are faithful to the source and translate drums, guitars, and bass guitar, as well as Carrie's vocals, accurately and dependably every night. She has a top-notch band with her and I’m trying to capture exactly what they play and just stay out of the way.”

“Carrie is absolutely one of the best vocalists I’ve worked with,” Lane adds. “She comes in for every sound check completely prepared and delivers a soundcheck vocal as if thousands of people were listening. Every day at rehearsal, she was 100 percent ready for what she was doing with each song. It’s an absolute pleasure to see that level of professionalism and it certainly doesn’t hurt that she can belt it out. She can take a song from an intimate whisper to one of the most searing vocals you have ever heard in your life in the space of a heartbeat and the Heil RC35 delivers that vocal impeccably. ”

The RC35 is replacement microphone capsule that will allow you to use the Heil Sound microphone capsule used on the PR35 vocal microphone. If you have questions, please call. We stock virtually all Heil microphones for immedaite delivery. We also have demonstration models for you to try in your setting. Call for more information.

Carrie Underwood will be performing at the Academy of Country Music awards on her new custom Heil Sound RC 35. The Heil Sound Custom Shop prepared two versions of her handheld and one of them will be used when she performs live on the show. Carrie is nominated for six awards and if she wins Entertainer of the Year, she will be the first women to win that award twice.

The 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 18, 2010.

]]>Dave HornSat, 17 Apr 2010 10:12:50 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/carrie-underwood-chooses-heil-rc35-vocal-microphone-elementGetting Control of Your Church Band Soundhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/getting-control-of-your-church-band-sound
by Brian Smith

It is no secret that many church music programs have been incorporating contemporary praise bands into some if not all of their services over the past several years. While the amplified guitars, bass, keyboards and drums help to add energy and excitement to a service and help draw the younger set into the church, many organizations find themselves fighting a new problem: over-powering sound levels with the acoustic drums seeming to be the lead culprit.

There are three main issues contributing to the problem: adverse room acoustics, insufficient acoustic separation, and insufficient isolation of the loud instruments.

Unfortunately, very few sanctuaries have acoustic properties conducive to loud instruments. Most rooms are designed with no regard for acoustic performance or with pianos and organs in mind, not percussion and amplified guitars.

]]>Dave HornTue, 30 Mar 2010 17:18:17 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/getting-control-of-your-church-band-soundRSS M-48 Personal Mixing System Live on NAACP Image Awards http://geartechs.com/index.php/rss-m-48-personal-mixing-system-live-on-naacp-image-awards
The 2010 NAACP Image Awards were broadcast on FOX on February 26 live from The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with audio production services provided by ATK Audiotek of Valencia, CA.

The live band was lead by Rickey Minor and consisted of drums, percussion, bass, guitar, keys, three background vocalists and a 5-piece horn section. Each musician had their own M-48 Personal Mixer providing fully personalized control to their in-ear monitors or headphones.

For the Image Awards Band, the RSS by Roland M-48s were used as an extension of the normal monitor position with the lead and front-line singers on wedges and the band on personal mixers. The M-48 system is designed so the monitor engineer can still be in control of everything including an individual’s personal mixer if necessary.

Andres Arango, staff engineer for ATK commented, “At first we went with the typical setup where the musicians used the personal mixer for communication, click track, along with support from floor wedges – but after the horn section heard themselves through their M-48s, especially with the reverb ability, we took away the wedges and they went on in-ears alone.”

The unique part of the M-48 system is that each personal monitor can view up to 40 sources. Each musician can be setup to arrange the sources in any way they want - single, stereo or grouped. In this case, the drummer had kick, snare, hit, and tom stems spread out over many stereo groups, then a vocal and horn stem. All sources were individually controllable on his M-48 unit so he could get the exact mix he wanted. The horn and vocal sections simply had a single drum stem, and other band/horn/vocal sources on their own M-48s with their own "more me" control.

In addition, each musician controlled their own reverb, limiter and EQ via their own M-48 if they so desired. All sources came through the monitor board first so basic level EQ and compression could be applied as required by the monitor engineer. Each M-48 is supplied power and 40 channels of audio via a single Cat5e cable making cable management very clean and easy to install.

Andres concludes, “The band loved this new M-48 setup so much that we’re planning on using it on a number of other projects moving forward.”

]]>Dave HornMon, 29 Mar 2010 18:29:16 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/rss-m-48-personal-mixing-system-live-on-naacp-image-awards3000 Series True Diversity UHF Wireless Systemshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/3000-series-true-diversity-uhf-wireless-systems
The 3rd Generation Audio Technica 3000 "B Series" Wireless systems are in stock now! Even the older 3000 "A Series" received a nomination for the prestigious TecAwards from Mix Magazine for Outstanding Technical Achievement. On a recent visit, the Sennheiser sales rep admitted that Audio-Technica makes a superior product to his at this price point. Why he said that, we’ll never know.

With automatic frequency scanning to find and set the best available channel, 996-1001 selectable UHF channels, true diversity protection from RF hits and dropouts, soft-touch controls, easy setup and great sound, the 3000 Series wireless delivers truly professional performance that you can have starting under $500 per channel. The 3000 series systems include a rack kit, detachable antennas for use with professional antenna distribution systems and high performance accessory antennas, and more.

I write a lot about finding the right product and take pride in helping you select products that meet your needs and your budget. One of the most common requests that we get is for a good, yet inexpensive, wireless microphone system. In a few cases, "good" and "inexpensive" actually go together.

Take the Audio-Technica 2000 Series wireless microphone systems for example. When compared to some systems from other manufacturers, they sound better and are lower-priced. When compared to others, they're the same price but much better, in terms of quality and features.

The 2000 Series is exactly the product that I want to tell you about. It's not quite "something for nothing," but it's close.

The 2000 Series features automatic frequency scanning on 10 channels. No more guessing on frequencies. Just push a button and let the system set itself.

The 2000 Series features a metal receiver chassis. No others in the price class have a metal receiver. It also has an included rack kit. No others feature that either. Some manufacturers charge as much as $50 for just a rack kit.

The 2000 Series sounds as good as more-expensive systems and better than systems priced the same, and it's built better, to boot. The 2000 Series starts at $299.95 for a bodypack-only system (no mic included) and $349.95 for either handheld or lapel system. Earset systems from $549.95. Click here for more information.

]]>Dave HornTue, 16 Mar 2010 09:49:47 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/audio-technica-2000-series-wireless-the-best-value-in-low-cost-wireless-microphonesHeadphones - every mixer needs a pair. http://geartechs.com/index.php/headphones-every-mixer-needs-a-pair
Before I knew what a fader was, I watched the sound guys at church put on their headphones at the beginning of the service and keep them on until the end, never or rarely listening to what the rest of us were hearing. They'd watch the meters, and the congregation had to live with something that might have sounded good to the sound crew, but didn't necessarily sound good in the sanctuary. That made absolutely no sense to me, so until a few years later, I wouldn't have been caught dead with a pair of headphones because no one ever taught me the value of using headphones correctly.

As a live sound mixer, you need a pair of headphones. There's no negotiating that point, but make sure that you use them the right way. Your primary job is to make sure that the system sounds good in the room, not to make sure that the board mix sounds good for the recording.

In the standard live sound set-up where you can hear the speakers directly, here are a handful of reasons to add a pair to your setup, if you don't own a pair already.

With a good pair of headphones, you can use the PFL (pre-fader listen) or Solo button on your console to listen to any one channel or group of channels.

Why might you choose to do that?

Have you ever needed to cue a CD, DVD, or taped accompaniment without everyone in the room hearing what you're doing? PFL means that you can listen to a channel in the headphones with the fader shut off. As a rookie sound mixer, I used to cue accompaniment tapes using only the meters on the cassette deck, and sometimes I cued things up to the wrong point. Not smart.

In the similar manner, a pair of headphones allows you to isolate a channel in order to find a hum, buzz, or noisy guitar amp. Make sure to mute the noisy guitar amplifiers during the sermon and/or use a noise gate.

With a pair of headphones, you can figure out who's singing off-key and keep them back a little in the mix, and you can tell if whether someone is really playing their instrument or singing. From 50-70' away, it's often hard to tell exactly what's going on. Sometimes, the keyboard player isn't really playing or a vocalist isn't singing.

When the guitar player wants more guitar in the monitors, you can quickly listen to his or her monitor mix to see whether more is needed or if you can achieve the same thing by reducing the level of something else that's covering up the guitar. It's a fact of life; guitar players always want more guitar. If you continually give everyone more of themselves, you'll soon have monitors that are too loud, which causes other problems.

A really good pair of headphones might set you back $150 or so, and there are plenty of good alternatives, even as low as $50. Whatever you do, if you don't have a pair of headphones and if your console has a headphone jack and PFL/Solo buttons, make sure that you get a pair. You'll wonder how you ever lived without them.

Many churches have ALS on premises, but very few let people know that they’re available. I’ll admit that ALS may well be the most boring category of product that we offer, but let me tell you about my own experience. A few years ago, my own church decided to install an ALS system. The church leadership debated its merits and whether it “was worth it to spend $800 on something that people may not use.” I’ll bet that sounds familiar to some of you.

The first day of use, we passed out just one of the four receivers to Mr. Borton, a 92-year-old man in the congregation who already wore hearing aids in both ears, but still couldn’t hear well. Our pastor had prepared well, our worship team was well-rehearsed, and the audio mix was, of course, spectacular with Yours Truly at the helm. None of that mattered.

For at least a couple years, Mr. Borton had been so deaf that he never picked up more than an occasional word, despite hearing aids, a good sound system, and sitting on the third row. A person had to almost yell at him in order for him to hear anything at all.

This day was different, and Mr. Borton’s first reaction is known only to the members of our choir who witnessed it. Before the choir’s featured song, the pastor called the children up to the platform to share a story. Only the choir members could see Mr. Borton’s face light up and his eyes dart back and forth as he followed what was taking place on the platform. After the service, he gave me a huge smile, a thumbs up, and each week after that, I looked forward to his stopping by to pick up his receiver and earphones. We got our “$800 worth” during the first service.

Have you ever listened to a hearing aid? I tried one once, and it was enough to make me realize that amplifying all of the noise in the room just makes the clutter louder.

How does an ALS work differently? An ALS is a simple one-way radio transmitter/receiver combination that allows the wearer to hear only what you want the person to hear.

Imagine giving your members the ability to hear only the overall message itself without having to amplify the HVAC fans, the ambience of the room, paper rattling and pages turning, or even the people talking nearby. That’s exactly what an ALS offers. Any signal that you can select from your mixer (same as the speakers, a special mix, or the pastor’s voice only) can be routed into the ALS with a simple cable.

You're in the middle of your weekend service and the lights go out. Not only do you flinch, but the audio and video systems go off then on, and then off again with a flicker, a bang, and a flicker and bang again. We've all been there, but what can you do?

The first things that we were all taught about audio systems is to make sure that your low-level electronics (mixer, equalizers, processors, recorders - everything except the amplifiers) are to be turned on first (before the power amplifiers) and off last. In a blackout, everything goes off at once and comes back on together and you'll often experience a loud bang, sometimes followed by puffs of blue smoke from your speakers. And no one has ever figured out how to put the smoke back inside once it escapes.

Okay, you got me. That's a little bit dramatic, but spikes from turning some low-level devices on and off are strong and very audible if amplified. Those spikes can damage your speakers as a result of blackouts or other power failure. Those power failures can also cause you to lose unsaved settings on computers and other devices in use during your services.

Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) have been commonplace in the computing world for years. The advantages are obvious. No lost work, longer lasting equipment - no more surges, spikes, blackouts and brownouts, more stable voltage and more.

Why now? People have been asking for it. If it makes sense for the computer world, it makes sense for the AV world, too. I'm not sure why this has taken so long.

I can hear your brain humming. Can I put my entire sound system on one? In a word, no. The goal of using a UPS in the worship setting isn't to keep the systems operational, but to give you time to get your wits about you and to shut things down in an orderly fashion. I can envision one of our clients, in particular, running toward his amp racks now.

The SU1000Li will give you about four minutes to either shut things down in an orderly manner, or to wait for the power to come back on. Since your low-level electronics will remain on, what the SU1000Li will allow you to do is to make sure that your amplifiers are switched off and/or that you're ready in case the power comes back on in a hurry.

When the power goes out, as long as all of your low-level electronics are plugged into the SurgeX SU1000Li, your system will go silent after the load on the amplifiers bleeds off what's left. Without the SU1000Li in a power failure, there's a good chance that one of your processors will send a big spike down the line to the amplifiers and that spike will bleed off what's left in the amplifier with a big bang, and maybe a little bit of blue smoke. If you happen to avoid the blue smoke (which you probably will), and the power happens to come right back on, you'll probably get another big bang.

Those bangs, over time, damage your system and especially your speakers.

The SurgeX SU1000Li offers advanced Series Mode surge elimination, Impedance Tolerant EMI/RFI Filtering, Over/Under Voltage protection, 1000VA battery backup, voltage regulation, power management and diagnostic software, and a 10-year warranty. It's not only a battery backup, but it's part of the SurgeX family - with some of the most advanced power protection circuitry available today.

The SurgeX SU1000Li is $1189.00 and it's available today. Please find the SU1000Li in our webstore for specifications and more information.

Sometimes, it’s hard to get great sound. Sometimes, it’s not. Actually, getting fabulous sound can be pretty easy and almost effortless, but that ease comes at a price, and many folks think that they can’t afford it.

Most days, I can be found scouring the world of audio and video equipment for products that I think will fit the unique needs and budgets of the typical church. Today, it hit me. What does a “typical” church look like?

The challenge that I present to myself every day is to find products for you that are the right fit for your needs. Sometimes, the right fit might be the most expensive products we sell – products that you think that you can’t afford until you start counting the costs and benefits of performance, reliability, ease of use, and long-term effectiveness.

Contrary to what I believed at one time time, the “lowest cost” doesn’t stop when you buy something. Anyone can sell for less. That’s easy. Providing the lowest cost of long-term ownership takes effort, planning, and making sure that you get the right product. That way, you have tools on which you can depend – week in and week out, so that you can focus on your purpose.

I’d like to introduce you to a product – one that you might never have seen before, and a product that might not be for you. But then again, when you count ease of use, exceptional quality, long-term service, and other factors, you might just find that it's the perfect fit.

It used to drive me crazy that my dad would go to the same stores and pay “too much” for a pair of khaki pants when he could shop and shop and shop like I did and get a better deal. His response to my questioning went something like this, “Dave, I know that these pants are more expensive, but I know that I can drive to the store, pick them off the shelf – in any color – and that they’ll fit, wear well, and I’ll like them. It’s just not worth the time and hassle to try to save $50.”

Granted, we’re not talking about $50 savings, but the principles still apply. In order to get a great piano sound every week, what would the right solution be worth?

]]>Dave HornFri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/earthworks-pm40-piano-mic-systemDPA 4066 and 4088 Headband Microphones Surpass All Othershttp://geartechs.com/index.php/dpa-4066-and-4088-headband-microphones-surpass-all-others
DPA has taken the idea a step further by adding world-class sound in a two-ear model. When it comes to appearance, all of the earset microphones look great – you can barely see them. That’s the whole point. When it comes to feedback rejection, differences begin to appear, but put any microphone an inch from your mouth and feedback shouldn’t be much of an issue. When it comes to staying on your head, a one-ear style unit simply can’t compete with two-ear unit. And when it comes to sound quality, DPA is head and shoulders above the rest.

DPA is a Denmark-based manufacturer who, for 15 years, has been quietly making microphones that are among the best in the world. In 1982, I was an exchange student in Denmark. The Danish take great pride in their electronics. You may have heard of Bang and Olufsen – the makers of audio and video electronics for the home. Their designs, even in the early 1980s, made what I knew from the United States and Japan look archaic. My host family took great great pains to point out various Danish technological advances as superior to everything else in the world. Take a peek at the B&O website to see what I mean.

Back to DPA. DPA makes highly advanced condenser microphones and it does it extraordinarily well. DPA makes a couple different models of earset microphones (DPA calls them headband microphones), and they are compatible with a variety of wireless microphone systems. The models that we sell most frequently are the DPA 4088F cardioid and the DPA4066F omnidirectional headband microphones.

If you’re interested in the ultimate earset sound, give us a call. You won’t find a better microphone, and at twice the price of the competition, you shouldn’t be able to. When you see an inconspicuous, secure two-ear headband microphone on television or at a high-end performance, and you can’t quite figure out who makes it, you can be virtually certain that it’s a DPA.

Follow these liinks for more information on these extraordinary microphones. Price include adapters for specific wireless microphones.

Is there anything worse than when your wireless microphone doesn’t work? I can’t think of a thing. Not one. Hopefully, you’ve never had to deal with an intermittent wireless microphone. The message that churches bring each week is too important to be left to chance. Unfortunately, with more wireless devices in use, successfully using wireless microphones and trying to diagnose problems can be very frustrating.

The other day, we received a call from a new client who wanted to try a particular wireless microphone that he had seen advertised. The unit of interest had lots of neat features, and appeared to be top drawer in terms of quality. I was familiar with the unit, and actually can sell it if I so choose. The church is here in Columbus, Ohio, so I arranged an on-site demonstration of the wireless system. Just for kicks, I also took along an Audio Technica 4000 Series handheld system.

Initially, the church was hesitant to try the 4000 Series because the other unit had lots of really cool extra features and looked great. After I arrived at the church, we set up the 4000 Series and I handed it to the sound technician. He put it through its paces and he liked it – he just smiled when he heard his voice. He’s a radio guy, so a big, warm sound is very important. Later in the evening, the church had a special guest coming in, so we set it aside. I offered to set up the unit that they wanted to hear, and the technician said that he’d do it later. I went home.

A few days later, I called to check in. He raved about the Audio Technica – its warmth, its clarity, its appearance, its dendability, and he went on. I asked about the other unit. He simply said, “No” which wasn’t the answer to my question. I pressed him a little and he started to explain, and then just said “No” again. He didn’t even want to talk about the other unit.

When you find something that works, you stick with it.

The Audio Technica 4000 Series has fabulous features (996 channels UHF, automatic frequency scanning, dual companding, well-constructed metal transmitters, and more) and extraordinary sound quality. The other unit looked like the best of the best, but only where it doesn’t count – on paper.

Kramer Electronics has released both an iPhone App and PC based control software for Kramer’s popular VP-729 ProScale Digital Scaler/Switcher. The new iPhone App and the PC based control software provide easy-to-use interfaces to control both switching and operation of all menu features of the VP-729.

Kramer has created an iPhone App called “VP-729” that allows users to conveniently operate Kramer’s popular VP-729 scaler/switcher. The VP-729 App provides an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for the most necessary functions of the VP-729. To operate, enter the IP address of your VP-729 and press the connect button. You can switch inputs, increase and decrease the audio output volume and adjust all menu items over your wireless network. There is no need to manipulate the front panel buttons or look for the wireless IR remote control. Just grab your iPhone and start working.

The new iPhone App can be found in Apple’s App Store within iTunes®. Once in iTunes, search for “VP-729” and download the app. There is a video posted a video on YouTube demonstrating how to use the VP-729 App.

Kramer has also created new PC-based software for the VP-729 that also works with the VP-728 via the RS-232 port. This freeware switching and control program can be obtained from the Kramer Web site via the “Downloads” tab on the VP-729 or VP-728 product pages. After the program is installed on a local computer, it connects via Ethernet to a Kramer VP-729 or via RS-232 to either a VP-729 or VP-728. All the switching and menu functions of the VP-729 and VP-728 can be set and controlled remotely from the connected computer.

The PC-based control software emulates the appearance of the front panel of the Kramer VP-729/VP-728 scalers on the computer screen so that the user can control switching by clicking on the inputs buttons. If menu control is selected, the VP-729/VP-728 menu appears on the computer screen. The on-screen menu is visually identical to the menu generated by the scalers on a connected display and the user has full control over all features including the ability to define and set custom resolutions.

The new VP-729 and VP-728 PC-based switching and control software can be found on the VP-729 or VP728 product pages via the “Downloads” tab or under the heading “Software” on the “Software Firmware Updates” page on the “Support” tab of the Web site at www.kramerus.com . It is available at no charge as a value-added freeware program.

]]>Bill HeinigThu, 25 Feb 2010 16:36:03 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/kramer-electronics-releases-iphone-app-control-software-for-vp-729-scalerswitcherFCC Consumer Alert on Wireless Microphone Issueshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/fcc-consumer-alert-on-wireless-microphone-issues
As of February 28, 2010, we are required to post the following announcement to every single page of our website where wireless microphones are for sale. We've complied with that request delivered to us via U.S. Mail as of February 25, 2010.

You might want to take a look at the notice. Of course, you'll see it on every page of the site where wireless products are for sale. Take a minute to read the notice and if you have questions, please feel free to call us.

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CONSUMER ALERT

Most users do not need a license to operate this wireless microphone system. Nevertheless, operating this microphone system without a license is subject to certain restrictions: the system may not cause harmful interference; it must operate at a low power level (not in excess of 50 milliwatts); and it has no protection from interference received from any other device. Purchasers should also be aware that the FCC is currently evaluating use of wireless microphone systems, and these rules are subject to change. For more information, call the FCC at 1-888-CALL-FCC (TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC) or visit the FCC’s wireless microphone website at www.fcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones.

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What does this mean? In a nutshell, it means that if your wireless microphone (any unlicensed wireless microphone) may not interfere with anyone else's licensed wireless microphone or other radio system and that, as an unlicensed user, you have no assurance of reliable wireless microphone performance.

Made in the USA, the PR-35 (made with the same capsule as the PR-30 that we liked so well for choir, drum overheads, and guitar amplifier) was introduced to the world during the 2008 Super Bowl. Fox Sports received 5 of the first 6 available for use with the broadcasters. We received microphones #7-12. I know that the Super Bowl use by the TV announcers doesn’t sound super impressive if you’re a music guy, but let’s step back.

Why did Fox Sports pick the PR-35? First, let me tell you that the PR-35 has an extra dimension of depth not found in other microphones. I’m not talking about bass. I’m talking about that “something special” that’s hard to describe. It’s what makes a voice jump out of the mix without tearing your head off. It’s what makes you smile when you hear it. The PR-35’s huge diaphragm adds both warmth and punch, along with spectacular presence.

I think that as much as great sound, Fox likes the fact that the PR-35 has the top-notch rear rejection. What does that mean? It means that the PR-35 is able to keep ambient noise out, isolating only the voice of the user.

Many cardioid microphones claim rear isolation, but in reality don’t perform well. Imagine the Super Bowl – the roar of the crowd, the noise of the PA announcer, the action everywhere. Imagine trying to hear Terry Bradshaw’s voice clearly without all of the background din. In a music setting, imagine not picking up the monitors or the reflection from the front of the balcony or the guitar amplifier.

With the PR-35, there’s virtually no feedback, even in high volume, high energy settings. The PR-35 has a three-position bass roll-off switch, and I recommend that you start with the middle setting. The PR-35 is a little boomy for most people’s taste when flat. So, you’ll have to experiment with what you think is best for you.

If you have a special vocalist (maybe your worship leader or a soloist) or a whole group of special vocalists, try it. My recommendation is to get one. Use it next to what you’re using now. You’ll be hard-pressed to go back.

One of my clients and I have compared the PR-35 to lots of other microphones over the past couple weeks, and the results have been not unexpected, but very pleasing. We’ve compared the PR-35 to microphones of others at the price points of $99.95, $119.95, $159.95, and others up to $699. We found that the PR-35 was generally preferred to even the $699 microphone and that it blew the other brands away. There is truly a difference.

The Heil PR-35 is $249.95, so it’s not cheap. When you feel it, look at it, and hear it, you’ll know that you have a well-built tool in your hand. I’m confident in the PR-35 – so confident in fact, that if you don’t like it, I’ll take it back.

How will you know whether the PR-35 is for you? Ask yourself, “Does it sound like a great product?” What I’d like you to do is to read our descriptions (which you’ve already done). That’s step #1. Step #2 is to consider your budget. Ask yourself, “Is this a product that I can afford based on my needs (if it does what it’s supposed to do)?” Step #3 is to order it.

When you get it, use it. If you don’t agree with our assessment, you can return it. It’s fairly simple.

In stock for immediate shipment. Try it. You won’t want to send it back.

]]>Dave HornWed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-sound-pr35-large-diaphragm-vocal-microphoneAudio-Technica Sounds Off at the Grammy Awards!http://geartechs.com/index.php/audio-technica-sounds-off-at-the-grammy-awards
Los Angeles (February 2, 2010)--For the 13th year in a row, Audio-Technica supplied more than 250 microphones for the annual Grammy Awards Show.

The 52nd Annual GRAMMYs, held January 31, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, placed an emphasis on live performances. For the live show and broadcast, Audio-Technica supplied hard-wired mics and Artist Elite® 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems, as well as its new AT4050ST Stereo Condenser Microphone and AT4081 Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone.

The sound system was provided by ATK AudioTek with FOH (front-of-house) Engineers Ron Reaves and Mikael Stewart, with the house audio supervised by Leslie Ann Jones, a prominent member of the Producers & Engineers Wing of The Recording Academy. New Jersey/California-based remote facilities company Music Mix Mobile were onsite with their M3 trucks to create the music mix, facilitated by Broadcast Music Mixers John Harris and Eric Schilling, while Tom Holmes was responsible for the overall broadcast mix. The broadcast audio was supervised by Phil Ramone and Hank Neuberger, also leading members of the P&E Wing. Michael Abbott returned as Audio Coordinator, and Music Mix Mobile’s Joel Singer served as Engineer-in-Charge.

For the home audience, CBS delivered the most advanced form of HDTV, with 1,080 lines of picture resolution and 5.1-channel surround sound. To meet the sonic demands of this format, the audio engineers and music mixers employed a wide range of Audio-Technica microphones for the GRAMMY Awards.

Artists who performed throughout the evening using Audio-Technica’s Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System included Jamie Foxx, T-Pain and Doug E. Fresh, performing Foxx’s “Blame It”; Album-of-the-Year winner Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks, on a medley of recent Swift hits and the Nicks-penned Fleetwood Mac classic “Rhiannon”; double award recipient Maxwell; and Lil Wayne and Drake, who performed with Eminem. All of these performers used A-T’s AEW-T5400 Handheld Microphone/Transmitter, except Swift, who used A-T’s AEW-T4100 Handheld Microphone/Transmitter. Additionally, Elton John, who performed with Lady Gaga, used a hardwired AE6100 Hypercardioid Dynamic Handheld Microphone.

The backline mic complement of A-T wired microphones included AE5400 Cardioid Condenser Handheld Microphone for backing vocals and horns; ATM350 Cardioid Condenser Clip-On Microphone for strings; AT4050 Multi-pattern Condenser Microphone for guitar and bass cabinets; the new AT4050ST Stereo Condenser Microphone for overheads; and the new AT4081 Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone on percussion and guitar cabinets, as well as for Jeff Beck’s guitar amp during a tribute to late guitar legend Les Paul. Audio-Technica’s 5000 Series Wireless was also used on background vocals.

John Harris, Co-Music Mixer, stated, “For high-profile broadcast events like the GRAMMYs, we always turn to Audio-Technica because there can’t be any room for error. A-T gives us an unwavering level of confidence, as I know the mics will work perfectly regardless of the situation. Also, I have been moving away from traditional overhead microphone techniques for cymbals, and instead using a single stereo mic for the whole kit. The AT4050ST has been spectacular in this application.”

Joel Singer, Music Mix Mobile Engineer-in-Charge, stated, “Audio-Technica products always perform flawlessly from a technical standpoint, and they continue to be our company’s go-to mic because of fidelity, clarity, overall reliability and consistency from microphone to microphone. And of course the quality of audio that comes through with A-T's RF is not at all sacrificed because it's a wireless – it's transparent.”

]]>Dave HornTue, 02 Feb 2010 17:34:16 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/audio-technica-sounds-off-at-the-grammy-awardsCountryman E6 Flex – the Best of Both Worldshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/countryman-e6-flex-the-best-of-both-worlds
Countryman E6 Flex – the Best of Both Worlds

Our best-selling professional microphone – now improved! Countryman listened and improved the E6 by introducing the new E6 Flex Earset microphone. The E6 Flex combines the popular slim earpad from the original E6 with the flexible boom from the E6i.

Earset performance doesn’t get much better.

For the past several years, Countryman has surged into prominence by producing a miniature earset microphone that many companies copied. The original E6 sounded great, was very durable, and provided a level of performance never before available.

Now, it’s even better!

With the E6 Flex, Countryman has made a couple improvements while not sacrificing sound quality. The thin earpad on the E6 Flex doesn’t interfere with hairstyles, eyeglasses, wardrobe, headphones, or in-ear monitors. The front boom of the E6 Flex is slightly firmer than the E6i, so it’s easily shaped right on the wearer’s face and smoothes out for a professional look.

Great sound, less feedback.

Frequency response is better than 20 Hz to 20 kHz ± 3 dB (the range of human hearing). Easy adjustment keeps the mic in the perfect position for maximum isolation.

Countryman earsets reduce feedback an average of 12 dB compared to a lavalier or lapel microphone.

Still Rugged and Reliable

Made of durable stainless steel, the E6 Flex stands up to daily handling, makeup, and sweat. The microphone element is virtually waterproof when used with the supplied protective caps.

Create, save, and instantly recall preset Scenes for different parts of of your weekend service. Store and load different presets for other weekly or occasional sanctuary functions.

Built into the StudioLive mixing console is the equivalent of a whole rack of expensive digital signal processors to make your pastor, praise band, choir, and soloists sound their best. And StudioLive grows with your church...from 16 to 32, 48 or more microphone and instrument input channels.

Stevie Wonder - really?
I got a call from Bob Heil. He wanted to check in to see how things were going and to say hello. We’ve been a large part of getting his products into the worship market over the last year or two. The two of us talked about a handful of new products coming later this year, other ways to use the current products and spent about 20 minutes just catching up.

Just as we were about to hang up, he said, “And do you know what one of the most touching moments I’ve had in my music career (which spans over 50 years)?” I didn’t. He went on to say, “Sarah and I were at the Hollywood Bowl watching Stevie Wonder recently and he had six of my microphones on stage.” He went on to say, “Dave, there’s not a better set of ears in the world than Stevie’s and to have him decide that my microphones are better than everything he has ever tried is quite a compliment. He has no reason to change anything he’s doing; he’s Stevie Wonder. On stage, he used a PR35 for his vocal at the acoustic piano, another at his electric piano, and four for his backup singers.”

Bob Heil has every right to be thrilled, humbled, and honored to have Stevie Wonder choose to buy his microphones. Heil Sound doesn’t do paid endorsements; Heil Sound simply makes great microphones and people like you and Stevie Wonder are beginning to catch on. The Heil Sound PR35 has received a Mix Magazine TEC Award nomination this year, but that meant much less to Bob than a music legend like Stevie Wonder hand-picking a microphone that he created.

Marketing departments can spin specifications, write about frequency response, and make pretty pictures all day long. The funny thing is that sound can’t be captured on paper, no matter how hard anyone tries.

As hard as I try to describe good audio, it’s impossible for you to fully comprehend the Heil Sound PR35 until you try it for yourself. The Heil Sound PR35 is a truly great vocal microphone. It even has two-position bass roll-off making it versatile enough for many other uses.

We’re beginning to hear about more and more artists using exclusively Heil microphones. That means that Heil microphones work well for vocals, guitar amps, acoustic guitars, drums, drum overheads, bass amps, backing vocalists and choirs, and more.

Try a PR35. That’s the only way you’ll ever really understand the difference between the PR35 and everything else.

A few years ago, I was introduced to what was supposed to be the world’s best piano microphone. It received great reviews, was made here in the USA from solid brass, and from all indications, it was supposed to sound great, and it did.

Fast forward to mid-2007. One of my long-time clients called to ask about a “reasonably-priced microphone for grand piano.” That’s a request that I get all of the time. Finding the right set-up for grand piano can be an adventure.

As I drilled down into my memory for a solution, I thought of the solid brass microphone, but it didn’t qualify as reasonably-priced. What made it special? Why did it work? I thought of its structure; it was a small-diaphragm condenser microphone on a boundary – like those used in boardrooms, except that it was optimized for piano.

My clients buy lots of boardroom microphones (flat, almost disc- or trapezoid-shaped), so I had plenty in stock. Wondering whether it would work at all, I sent one out just to see what would happen. I was surprised to find out that with the right placement, that it worked really well and cost 60% less than the solid brass piano microphone.

Our clients have found this microphone to work well on baby grands and 7’ grand pianos alike. The church that I attend uses one on its Yamaha baby grand every week.

Call me to order yours right now. I’ll let you try it out and explain to you how to place it for best results. If you’re not satisfied, just send it back.

]]>Dave HornMon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/make-your-grand-piano-sound-greatCan your sound technician hear what the congregation hears?http://geartechs.com/index.php/can-your-sound-technician-hear-what-the-congregation-hears
That question seems like it should have an obvious answer, right? Unfortunately, that's not always the case.

For years, we've debated with architects, church building committees and just about everyone else (except the sound technician) when it comes to choosing the location for the sound booth. From mixing week in and week out, sound technicians understand where the sound system controls need to be, but because even building design experts don't "get it," your sound technician is very likely listening from the worst seat in the house. That doesn't make much sense, does it?

Rule #1 - when picking a location for your sound booth, make sure that the sound quality and general volume level at the sound booth is the same as it is in the sanctuary itself.

Rule #2 - forget any other ideas that you have.

It's just about that simple.

I can't tell you how many times I've visited a church only to find the sound system controls in an unused balcony, against the back wall in a corner, enclosed in "control room" with a window, in its own little cubbyhole "out of the way" or even completely outside the sanctuary itself. Think about it. If you expect good sound (and all of us do) and if you want to make sure that the microphones get turned on at the right time, make sure that you don't make the mistake of putting your sound technician someplace that he or she can't hear (or see) well.

Unused balconies may make convenient and semi-secure locations, but if your sound technician has to run up and down the stairs to make sure that things sound good for the rest of the congregtion, doesn't it make sense that he or she shouldn't be there in the first place?

Bass frequencies build up against walls and in corners. If you wonder why the system sounds "thin" in most of the auditorium, it's probably because the sound technician hears more bass where he or she is sitting due to the nearby walls.

Please don't put your sound technician in a "control room." Yes, it's secure, but your sound technician needs to be a part of the worship service in order to participate, to keep from being distracted, and to hear what the rest of the congregation hears. I've even been to churches where the system controls are outside the sanctuary entirely. Think about that. How can anyone possibly control the sound for a room that they're not physically inside?

Effective sound system operation is the key to having a "successful" worship service. If your sound technicians are asking to be moved into the main sanctuary, away from the back wall, out of a "control room" that the architect designed, or any other suggestion, please listen. Getting God's message to your congregation depends on your tech team being equipped to do its job well.

One could say that the kick drum (bass drum) sound is the signature of any song. Rap, Rock, Jazz, R&B all have distinctive kick drum sounds that help define those genres. With that in mind, picking the right tool will make creating the sound a lot easier. Here are some tips for making the proper purchasing decision.

Frequency response.

Check the frequency response of the microphone. Do you really need a built-in +12dB boost at 40Hz when doing jazz? Will a massive 3 kHz boost be helpful for R&B?

You want those built-in curves working for you, not against you.

If you put the second microphone on your kick drum and you don't want all that high end, now you’re in fix-it mode, trying to get the right sound or fighting feedback.

Make sure that you find a microphone that compliments the type of sound you are trying to achieve. Doing so will save you time and headaches.

Ease of use.

I can hear you now, "Ease of use? It's a microphone, you put it on a stand and stick it in front of something." It's not that easy.

When selecting a kick drum microphone, here are some things to look for.

Let me be frank. The Heil PR30 Large Diaphragm Dynamic Microphone may be the very best microphone you will ever use for your choir - at least that's what our clients tell us.

This story begins a little over six years ago when one of our clients called with a question. He asked whether I thought that a dynamic microphone would work as an effective choir microphone. My first reaction was a definitive "maybe" but that a dynamic microphone probably wouldn't be sensitive enough.

More often than not when a client calls needing a new lamp (bulb) for his or her projector, or wonders why the lamp didn’t last as long as it might have, I often ask the follow-up question, “Have you cleaned the filters on the machine?”

“Filters? I didn’t know this thing had a filter.” Oops.

Ongoing filter maintenance is a very important part of keeping your projector cool so that your lamp lasts as long as possible. I can’t tell you how many times people have called about a bad lamp only to discover that their filters are fully clogged. Clogged filters force the operating temperature higher and shorten lamp life.

Cleaning your filters also prevents dust build-up on the LCD panels that causes yellow spots on the projected image and creates a repair that isn’t covered by your warranty.

Most manufacturers recommend cleaning the filters quarterly, but if your projector is installed 20’ off the ground, how do you gain easy access to get it done?

Late last year, Sanyo developed its Active Maintenance Filter System (AMFS) to alleviate such issues. AMFS senses dirty filter material and advances clean material into place automatically for up to 2000 hours of projector operation. When the filter cartridge expires, a warning appears on the screen that suggests that you change the filter. At 8 hours of use per week, that filter cartridge should last 4-5 years. You still have to change the cartridges, but periodic filter cleaning is not required.

Projectors with AFMS cost a little more than comparable projectors, but if you don’t have to worry about quarterly filter maintenance and you get extra life from the projector lamp, you’ll come out ahead – way ahead.

Not keeping your filters clean might also cost you a warranty claim since some manufacturers void their warranties, if it’s discovered that you didn’t keep the filters clean.

Sanyo offers the PLC-XC55 at 3100 ANSI Lumens and the PLC-XC50 at 2600 ANSI Lumens. Both feature plenty of brightness and great video performance for portable or installed use on screen sizes up to 7.5x10’, depending upon how much light is reflected by your screen.

If you have questions, please call for more information on selecting a projector for your use.

(Fairview Heights, IL) Heil Sound has introduced the PR 48 large diaphragm dynamic microphone designed for kick drum use. The PR 48 features a 1.5-inch diameter element, and is mounted in a vulcanized double shock mount, which offers complete isolation within a rugged cast metal housing. The PR 48 metal housing was designed with a slanted entrance to the 3 pin XLR so the cable assembly is easier to connect. A specially designed low pass filter sets the -3 dB hinge points at 30Hz and 8kHz with a +10 dB peak from 50 Hz to 80 Hz. The response rolls off at 8kHz, which helps control unwanted top end “noise” inside the drum, while keeping frequencies critical to kick drum harmonics found when the beater meets the drum head. The microphone provides a 600-ohm balanced output and can handle over 150 dB of SPL.

Company founder, Bob Heil, made a decision to develop a microphone for the kick drum after talks with many of today’s top drummers and sound mixers. “The kick drum is arguably one of the most important instruments on stage or in a studio when it comes to micing. It is a tricky beast. Just because a microphone shows specs that favor low-end reproduction doesn’t necessarily guarantee good results. The feedback that I received from the pros as well as my own research, confirmed that a microphone can and needed to be developed for this purpose. The PR 48 is the end result and I am very proud of it.”

Originally featured as a part of Heil Sound’s HDK Series drum microphone kits, and now offered as a stand alone product, the PR 48 has quickly become a favorite of top drummers and sound engineers. Kick drums pounded for the likes of the B-52’s, Stone Temple Pilots, Tool, The Wallflowers and Sheryl Crow are using the PR 48 in concert. Alan ‘Nobby” Hopkinson, FOH mixer for Tool had this to say, “The new PR 48 is killer, absolutely loving it, I actually cut right back on the sub bass harmonizer I've used for ever on the kicks, as your mic is giving me all the low end I could ever need, and indeed the system can handle.”

Established in 1966, Heil Sound Ltd. has developed many professional audio innovations over the years, and is currently a world leader in the design and manufacture of large diaphragm dynamic, professional grade microphones for live sound, broadcast, recording, and amateur radio markets. Heil Sound maintains corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

I’m not one to buy extended warranties since they seem like a bet against the equipment that I choose. I’ve always felt that if I buy good equipment that failure covered by a warranty won’t be an issue.

Most (if not all) extended warranties do not cover problems associated with electrical power. Lightning – not covered. Line surges – not covered. Voltage spikes – you guessed it – not covered.

So what does the typical extended warranty cover? Extended warranties typically extend (thus the name) the manufacturer’s warranty – which is almost always coverage against a defect in manufacturing.

In short, if you’re buying good equipment, failures should be rare, and when problems occur, the typical extended warranty won’t cover it.

When it comes to protecting your investment in equipment, you have just a couple choices – you can buy an extended warranty, or you can protect your equipment from the cause of many equipment failures – electrical surges, spikes and other line problems.

Enter SurgeX. In an instance told to me a few years ago, a family returned home to find that lightning had struck near their home and had irreparably damaged every single piece of electrical and electronic equipment inside the home, except one. When the insurance adjuster came to the he found non-working kitchen appliances, televisions, alarm clocks, the furnace, the fax machine, and air conditioner. He was surprised that the homeowner hadn’t listed his computer on the claim form and asked, “wasn’t your computer damaged?” It wasn’t. The computer had been plugged into a SurgeX SA15.

One of my friends who is also a manufacturer's representative for SurgeX wrote recently that “in over ten years representing SurgeX in the DC, NYC, Boston corridor, with thousands of these devices installed (in many cases protecting mission critical equipment), we have had ZERO problems of SurgeX not protecting other gear." He went on to write, “The stuff just works.”

Suffice it to say that SurgeX does things differently. Every other “surge protector" on the market uses MOV components that are designed to sacrifice themselves once they are subjected to a certain amount of surge impact. SurgeX does not.

Interestingly, once the MOV sacrifices itself, many surge protectors continue to pass electricity to your equipment, but can no longer protect against surges. Read that sentence again. It says just what you think it says. It's likely that your surge protector no longer protects your equipment from surges once its protection circuitry has been compromised.

There’s not enough room here to describe how SurgeX does what it does, but if you’re interested, click here for more than most people care to know about power conditioning and surge suppression.

When you can’t afford downtime and/or to lose equipment to catastrophic power issues or to cumulative damage caused by repeated spikes and surges, you can trust SurgeX to do the job.

One of our clients recently decided to protect their new $18,000 video projector with a SurgeX SA20. At $369.95, it’s not inexpensive, but it’s a great value at about 2% of the purchase price.

For more information and pricing on SurgeX products, please click here or call us today.

]]>Dave HornMon, 07 Dec 2009 19:32:17 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/surgex-kind-of-like-an-extended-warranty-only-betterWhy we do what we do. http://geartechs.com/index.php/why-we-do-what-we-do
Welcome to our new site!

A couple years ago, we began a quest to do something a little different with what would become the new Geartechs.com. The trouble is that there aren't any out-of-the-box website solutions that do exactly what we wanted to do. Our goal was to bring technology and information together in a way that allows you to discover new products and to have some assurance that what you find at Geartechs.com is the right solution for you.

Money spent on a product that doesn't work is not a solution; it's wasted. Wasted money and good stewardship do not go hand in hand. A few years ago, we discussed the possibility of teaching a seminary class in the use of technology for worship. That class didn't materialize, but it sure would help, wouldn't it?!

The reality is that even though you might think that more experience in equipment use and selection would come in handy sometimes, there's a good reason that you've never taken that class. Most days, there are more important things for you to do than to spend time figuring out what to buy.

There are two parts to the stewardship equation; yours and ours. What's your part? Making sure that you buy the right product. That's it. What's ours? Helping you find the right product. It's really just that simple.

If you call us or look around the new site, you'll find that everything we do is related to technology for worship. Sure, the products we offer can be used in a variety of applications - schools, businesses, bands, clubs, and more, and we have many clients in those areas.

The new Geartechs.com is committed to making sure that you find solutions that make your worship experience more effective.

Whether you need a microphone, a video projector, or even a system overhaul, we will help you choose products that are right for you - period.

One of the questions I’m asked most often is how to get the best choir sound. Quite frankly, it’s not easy and you’re typically asking a lot of your sound system to get enough gain before feedback, while getting a great sound.

Twenty years ago, Audio-Technica introduced its Unipoint hanging microphones and everyone wanted small, invisible microphones and those worked well for stationary choirs. Today, choirs are mobile with many new churches being built without any sort of permanent choir loft, so the need for invisible, permanently-installed microphones has diminished. With the new mobility, people have shown a willingness to focus on sound quality first and are selecting large diaphragm microphones.

Many use large diaphragm condenser microphones, but find them too sensitive, picking up everything from the front row audience to the monitor reflection off the back wall, to the drums, to the guitar amplifiers, etc. Oh and the choir, too.

]]>Dave HornFri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/get-a-world-class-choir-soundAlready Have a Projector?http://geartechs.com/index.php/already-have-a-projector
Already have a projector? You can still do wireless motion video!

Leave it to Gefen to come up with something to make your day, too. Their new Wireless VGA Extender LR allows a VGA display or projector to be conveniently located up to 100 feet away from the source – and it supports motion video! This wasn’t possible just a few months ago.

The Wireless VGA Extender LR features line-of-sight signal transmission and through walls at resolutions of up to 1280x1024, using industry-proven 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n Wireless network technology. The Extender can be operated on any one of 4 channels to minimize interference.

How It Works

This product is a plug-and-play solution. No special configuration is necessary. No video format limitations. The Wireless VGA Extender LR system consists of a Sender and a Receiver. The Sender is connected to the VGA source with a VGA cable. The Receiver is connected to the display with a VGA cable. 12V external power supplies are connected to the Sender and the Receiver.

Also Note

Supported A/V input sources also include Component, S-Video and Composite Video. A/V sources can be individually selected by pressing the Source Selector button on the front panel of either the Sender unit or the Receiver unit. The current wireless channel can be selected in the same way with the Channel Selector button.

In short, the Wireless VGA Extender LR supports composite, component, S-video or VGA inputs converting to either component video or VGA at the output.

If you already have a projector that you’d like, you can add wireless motion video functionality to your existing system for just $559.95 including shipping. And you can use a wide variety of input sources making your wireless life more fun and even easier.

When it comes to technology, Bob Heil is a rock star. His entire career has been devoted to music technology, starting with his early large venue sound systems used by the Grateful Dead and The Who, to work with Dolly Parton, Charlie Daniels, Stevie Wonder, Joe Walsh (the Eagles), Cheryl Crow, ZZ Top, Joan Baez, and dozens more.

Heil Sound is the only manufacturer to be included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You have to ask yourself not “Who?” but “Why?” The Who is that other band. Bad joke, I know. The answer to the “Why?” part is that Bob knows microphones, and he is and was a true audio pioneer working hard to make things better for you.

We began selling Heil microphones a few years ago and the response has been staggering. Heil is now our largest selling hardwired microphone line. People rave about them and typically buy more and more and more. We like that, but the only way that it’s possible is that users like it, too.

Everybody makes microphones. How can there be room for another company? Heil mics are not less expensive, they’re not prettier, they don’t come Buy One, Get One Free. They’re simply fabulous sounding and reasonably priced.

I was always impressed that Bob included gold, chrome, and black windscreens and a fancy carrying case for his PR20 microphone. It was his first foray into vocal microphones, it quickly became a favorite, and he was proud of it.

Where the PR20 really stood out, and still does, is as a snare drum microphone. It’s simply the best snare microphone that’s available – and it’s not just me that thinks that.

Pro users that you’ve never heard of demand the Heil PR20 as their first choice snare drum microphone. Who demands specific microphones? Sound technicians and engineers. They’re not generally famous, although some are, but they’re the guys making the players sound good. I should know. I made a bunch of pretty boys sound good for a long time – and rarely got noticed either. I kind of like it that way.

Back to the story. Earlier this month, Bob decided to dispense with the flashy windscreens and the fancy box and came out with the PR20UT. It’s the same darn microphone with only the chrome metal grille and a clip in a bag – just like the others guys do it – and for $50 less.

The PR20 with all the trimmings is still $155 and in stock. If you want the sound of the PR20 without the frills, get the PR20UT for just $101. It works great on guitar, toms and vocals, too.

Call to order either the PR20 or the PR20UT and we’ll send them right out!

Heil PR20 $155.00Heil PR20UT $101.00 – save $54 just to give up two metal grilles and a fancy carrying box]]>Dave HornWed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-pr20-microphoneSave money by buying the right equipment. http://geartechs.com/index.php/save-the-most-money
Every day, I talk with people just like you about technology for worship equipment. We talk about what’s new, what we wish was available and what works for others. We exchange ideas. We share tips.

Lately, people have been a little more hesitant to spend money. I can understand that. Gas prices are soar and then drop like a rock, the stock market zigs and then zags, the dollar goes up, gold goes down. What does it all mean? It means that your finance team might be a little bit nervous about letting you spend money for “non-essentials.”

Have we ever known what the next year would bring? It’s sometimes easy to get wrapped up in what might be and miss what God has in store for today. While audio and video gear might be deemed non-essential, selecting the right equipment is absolutely critical.

Free Ground shipping is limited to delivery destinations in the Continental United States and to orders of at least $99.95 in product value. Some very large or very heavy products may incur additional surcharges, and we have noted those on the individual product pages. For Free Ground shipping, we ship via our choice of UPS, FedEx, or United States Postal Service.

If you need something really fast

Express shipment via UPS and FedEx is also available at an additional cost. Our site is not yet configured to calculate those charges for expedited shipping. Please call so that we can let you know when your product will ship and how much it will cost.

If you're a resident of Alaska or Hawaii

Unfortunately, shipments to Alaska and Hawaii do not qualify for Free Ground shipping. We do offer reasonably-priced flat-rate shipping that is calculated at the time of checkout. Or please call to place your order over the telephone. We have many satisfied clients in both Alaska and Hawaii.

International sales

Our site does not permit online purchases for shipment to international destinations. In some cases, our suppliers may not permit us to ship outside the United States. Please call +1-614-276-1997 for shipping rates and product availability. Payment of all import duties are your responsibility.

If you would like your order shipped to your work address

For fastest order processing, please have us ship your products to the billing address for your credit card. For your protection, our systems cross-check name, address, and other card detail information in order to protect you and us from unauthorized use of your credit card information. If you place an order for shipment to a different address, your order might be delayed in order that we can verify the secondary address.

Only new products

Merchandise is shipped factory-sealed, unless you’re buying b-stock, demo, or used equipment. We, or our shipper (UPS, FedEx, etc.), may occasionally have to break the seal on a carton to verify its contents or inspect for damage.

Based on appearance, similarities to all other earset and headset microphones end there. The DPA headband microphones outperform all others – period. If their price tag is indicative of performance, they should. We have only a couple handfuls of clients who use the DPA headband mics. Most have “graduated” from more common brands for one reason or another, and all have decided that DPA microphones measure up to whatever standard they’re seeking.

By and large, most users seek out DPA’s pristine sound quality. Quite simply, there is no match. Our clients that use the DPA microphones tend to have larger budgets, but not exclusively so. Many users have come from referrals of satisfied DPA users.

The DPA 4066 omnidirectional and 4088 cardioid headband microphones come in several different color and connector configuration, so giving all of the prices here is impractical.

If you’re interested in having the best headband/earset microphone that money can buy and if consistency of performance and long-term reliability is a concern, look no further. DPA4066 Omnidirectional Headband Microphone from about $700

DPA4088 Cardioid Headband Microphone from about $725

Call today for more information.]]>Bill HeinigThu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/dpa-headphone-microphoneCountryman E6 Earset Michttp://geartechs.com/index.php/countryman-e6-earset-mic
Countryman E6 Earset Mic — Thousands sold nationwide!
Every year for the last five years, the E6 has been our best-selling microphone. Its size, weight and sound quality make it ideal for both worship leading and teaching. It fits neatly around one ear and and frees you from having to hold a microphone or to make sure that you’ve clipped the lapel microphone on correctly.

The E6 comes in four colors to match flesh tones (light beige, tan, cocoa, and black) and is available for both wired and wireless applications. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Take a look! You won't believe that something this small can sound so big! Less feedback, too!

Countryman E6 Earclip $55 ($70 MSRP)]]>Dave HornWed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/countryman-e6-earset-micCountryman E6 Earcliphttp://geartechs.com/index.php/countryman-e6-earclip
From time to time, we’ll have someone ask how they can keep their Countryman E6 earset more securely in place. There are a variety of tricks and tips that we give, but Countryman has pretty much eliminated the issue with the recent release of its E6 earclip.

The E6 earclip offers exceptional stability and attaches directly to your existing E6 microphone. It’s easily concealed behind in the hair and can be adjusted to provide a custom fit. It offers maximum versatility for your E6; you’ll now be able to use it in either one- or two-ear settings. The E6 earclip comes in tan and black colors, and in right and left ear models.

It’s a simple product that allows you to keep the sound quality of your existing earset instead of changing to a two-ear earset, if needed.

We are not required to collect Sales Tax on orders shipped outside the State of Ohio. Based on your shipping zip code, our shopping system will deduct sales tax amounts from your order at the time of payment.

We are required to collect Sales Tax on orders inside the State of Ohio.

Orders shipped to locations inside the State of Ohio will be charged an additional 7.5%, unless your organization is classified as tax-exempt.

If you are an exempt organization inside the State of Ohio.

Please submit your order and choose your method of payment. Our system will add sales tax to the amount of the order. Upon receipt of your completed State of Ohio Department of Taxation Sales and Use Tax Blanket Exemption Certificate, we will refund or deduct the amount of Sales Tax.

]]>Dave HornTue, 24 Nov 2009 15:47:10 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/sales-tax-policiesListen Technologies ALS - So that everyone can hear!http://geartechs.com/index.php/listen-technologies-assistive-listening-systems
Are you sure that everyone can hear what you're saying?

Existing churches in existing buildings are not required by law to provide assistive listening systems for use by those who have difficulty hearing. Even so, why place a potential stumbling block in the way when a member or a guest (especially a guest) might need some extra help hearing the message.

Isn’t the message what matters anyway?

Starting at $767.99, your church can get into the best family of Assistive Listening Systems (ALS) that money can buy, with a Lifetime Warranty.

Effective hearing is an important part of engaging your attenders in worship. Listen Technologies provides systems that make a difference. You might ask, “Why do we need an ALS when people have their own hearing aids? That’s a fair question.

The fact is that hearing aids amplify all of the sound in the room – the reverberations, the reflections, the people whispering nearby, and the sound system. There’s a great deal of “clutter” that can interfere with those who wear hearing aids.

The result is that the message is heard clearly.

With Listen Technologies ALS products, each user hears only what you want them to hear by allowing the sound system feed to be directed into their ears, without amplifying anything else.

Listen products are simple to use and manage. They ensure that everyone hears your message. Listen equipment can also be used to deliver your message into auxiliary rooms such as cry rooms, overflow areas and nurseries – without wires.

I have to admit that I’m having lots of fun introducing the Heil Sound line to our clients. It’s not often that we find much in the way of innovation with respect to vocal microphones. There are lots of very good microphones out there and, quite frankly, the last thing that I thought that we needed was another microphone line. I mean how much better can things get?

A client and I stumbled upon Heil Sound just last August while trying to find the perfect choir microphone. We found it, but that’s another story that I can share, if you’d like to call me sometime.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to the Heil Sound PR-22. It’s primarily a vocal microphone for live use, but it works really well on snare drum, and guitar amplifier, as well. The PR22 is a close cousin of the PR20, but the introduction of a new type of suspension has dramatically reduced the handling noise that some find in the PR20 – without sacrificing bass response.

The PR22 has perfect presence in the upper midrange allowing the singer’s voice to come through the mix, rather than cut through – if you know what I mean.

There’s a lot that can be said about the technology employed by Heil Sound to make the PR-22, but the best way to discover what you think is to try one. If you’re in the market for a new vocal microphone and $165 each fits your budget, let us send you a “Made in the USA” PR22 to try on your vocalists, on your sound system. If past experience is any indicator of future performance, you won’t send it back and you’ll probably want more.

]]>Dave HornMon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-pr22-cardioid-vocal-microphoneHeil PR30 - The Last Choir Microphone You’ll Ever Need?http://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-pr30-the-last-choir-microphone-youll-ever-need
Several years ago, one of our clients called with a challenge. He needed to hear his choir without resorting to lots of signal processing and radical equalization. What's a song without the words, right?! So he asked, "We've tried lots of different condenser microphones; what about a large diaphragm dynamic microphone?"

My first reaction was that a dynamic microphone couldn’t possibly be sensitive enough to pick up a choir well. The benefit of a condenser microphone is that its diaphragm has a lower mass and is more responsive to sound. He went on to say that his condenser microphones ($600 each) were too sensitive and that, even though they sounded great, he was having trouble with feedback and that he was picking up not only the choir, but everything from the third row of the congregation, to the drums, to the guitar amplifier along with the choir, and 6’ up the back wall where the monitors were being reflected.

In short, he had plenty of sensitivity, but no isolation – he was picking up every noise on the platform. And when the choir ended an upbeat number, he had to make sure that the cutoff wasn’t marred by feedback. Needless to say, that wasn’t what he wanted.

]]>Dave HornFri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500http://geartechs.com/index.php/heil-pr30-the-last-choir-microphone-youll-ever-needServiceshttp://geartechs.com/index.php/services
Truth Seeker Productions is a professional audio, video, and lighting systems integrator and dealer, and we’ve been around since 1985. We’re quite different from other companies in that we not only have an expert sales team, but that we offer installation services, along with on-site system troubleshooting, and training as well.

Through Geartechs.com, we hope to reach a wider audience so that more people discover the benefits and lower costs of getting the right product every time. Sometimes, the cheapest product to the do the job is – well – cheap. Money spent on the wrong products isn’t good use of your resources and your time. Is there anything worse than a wireless microphone that’s not reliable?

At Geartechs.com, you will find product reviews, great advice, real world application tips, and lots of valuable information. We hope that you’ll enjoy discovering new products right here at Geartechs.com.

Thanks for the great job you all have done! Thanks for suggesting and sticking with the digital board (even though it was overwhelming at first). The benefits are awesome. You and Gary have been a blessing, and I count both of you as great friends and most importantly, dear brothers in Christ.

We are so pleased with having great sound, lighting tech...etc in the building. I have been is so many new and relatively new churches where the sound is squeaking, squawking etc. and it ruins the services. We have had few to no glitches.

There are still many things that I would like to do and will take some more cash and little time.

By the way the remote clicker for the Power Point worked great, reached from the platform to the back of the room.

I am looking forward to continuing a working relationship and a growing friendship."

By the way, the M-400 is stinkin' awesome! I always knew it could do this stuff, but I've never seen it in action. I set the board up, stuck in my thumb drive, loaded my settings, and bam, there they were! Every tweak, every name, every setting, all right there.

Thanks much for your help and advice in the E6 mic. It is everything you promised and more! The pastor's happy, the tech services team is happy, and most of all the congregation is happy because they now hear his words in a clear natural sound. We love it!"

]]>Bill HeinigFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:35:21 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/mark-hinmanWayne Young, Riverside, CAhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/wayne-young-riverside-ca
"Dave, I just want you to know that I appreciate you always being there for me for those (wow, has it really been) 17 years!

I do know I can come to you for all of my equipment and accessory needs, and take your recommendations, and know that I will get a great product and a great price. That does save an incredible amount of time and frustration!

There are some times when I have shopped around, but even then I never get better service, and rarely, if ever, find better prices.

Thanks for all you do!"

Wayne YoungRiverside, CA

]]>Bill HeinigFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:33:51 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/wayne-young-riverside-caPeggy Bartzhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/peggy-bartz
"Dave...I like your emails...it feels like you are just sitting and chatting with me! Terrific..in this electronically charged age...we still NEED that personal touch! Kudos to you."

Peggy Bartz

]]>Bill HeinigFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:32:59 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/peggy-bartzTrevor Simmons, Coastlands City Campus Adelaidehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/trevor-simmons-coastlands-city-campus-adelaide
"Just wanted to encourage you in what you do, I stumbled across you (excuse the pun) somehow via the net a few years ago, I only have purchased one item from you as I am in Australia a while back, but I do enjoy reading all about your products and the way you present them. I look forward to the next one."
Trevor Simmons Coastlands City Campus Adelaide

]]>Bill HeinigFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:31:51 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/trevor-simmons-coastlands-city-campus-adelaideJerry Joulehttp://geartechs.com/index.php/jerry-joule
"I have used the PR30 for the choir, and they were probably the best mics I've ever used."

Jerry Joule

]]>Bill HeinigFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:31:04 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/jerry-jouleWarren Andersonhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/warren-anderson-elgin-evangelical-free-church
"We used the new stuff yesterday. It worked great . . . and we LOVED the mic! Thanks much. I appreciate partnering with you."

Warren Anderson

]]>Bill HeinigFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:28:23 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/warren-anderson-elgin-evangelical-free-churchDanny Dolan, All Saints Anglican Churchhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/danny-dolan-all-saints-anglican-church
"The new microphone worked great! The guy running our sound board yesterday said he didn't know the choir sounded that good! We will want to order at least one more. Thanks!"

Danny DolanAll Saints Anglican Church

]]>Bill HeinigFri, 30 Oct 2009 14:27:19 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/danny-dolan-all-saints-anglican-churchSean Robinson, Peachtree City UMChttp://geartechs.com/index.php/sean-robinson-peachtree-city-umc
“Thanks for being such a great resource & teammate!”

If you’re not happy with something, call us. We’ll do our very best to get things resolved quickly and painlessly because complete customer satisfaction is our goal.

Since we work hard to help our clients discover the right products, we receive very few requests for returns. If you have questions about whether a product will work for you, please call us at 800-747-7301. We’ve hand picked the products on this site for their quality and their value. We don’t sell everything; we sell what works.

What can be returned.

You may return most items featured on this site within 30 days. Returned products must be accompanied by complete and original factory packaging with all accessories and full documentation (owner's manual, warranty card, quick start guides, power cords, etc.), and show no signs of wear.

If you exchange for another product of similar value and as long as you return everything as specified above, you’ll receive 100% credit toward the other item(s). If you return a product for refund, we charge a 15% restocking fee.

Why do we charge a restocking fee on refunds?

If you return a product, we have to sell it to someone else as b-stock equipment at a discount, or return it to our supplier who charges us a restocking fee.

What you can't return.

Software is never returnable. Personal items like in-ear monitors, some microphones and other items used in or near body cavities are also not returnable for health reasons.

Special order, used, discontinued/closeout and custom items are not returnable, unless defective.

If you'd like to try a product.

Call us. For some products, we have demonstration models and can arrange to send one to you. That helps you make sure that you get what you need.

If you need to return something.

Please call us if you need to return something so that we can properly handle your return. Our warehouse staff does its best to figure out what to do with unmarked returns, but if you don’t get a Return Authorization we may not know what to do with the product when it arrives.

Exceptions to this policy.

We're not unreasonable. In the case that we made a shipping mistake or if you receive something that has been damaged or that is defective (dead on arrival), we’ll pay for the return shipping, and pay to ship you a replacement.

Refund of shipping charges.

We do not refund shipping charges. If you were provided with free shipping and handling, we will deduct our actual cost of shipping and handling from your refund or credit.

If you have any questions about whether a product can be returned, please call us at 800-747-7301.

The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for these websites: GearTechs.com and/or truthseekerproductions.com.

Our site's registration form requires users to give us contact information (name and e-mail address). We use contact information from the registration form to send the user information about our company. The contact information is also used to contact the user when necessary.

We will never sell your contact information -- period.

Choice/Opt Out.

Each periodic e-mail communication to our users provides the opportunity to opt-out of receiving such communications from us.

This site contains links to other sites. Truth Seeker Productions, Inc. is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

We accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover cards, cashiers/bank checks and US Postal money orders. Company and personal checks are accepted at the sole discretion of Truth Seeker Productions, Inc. We do not ship C.O.D.

Orders paid by credit card must be shipped to the billing address of the credit card. Our checkout payment process crosschecks every card number against its billing address and against cardholder databases, and generates an automatic red flag if things don’t match up perfectly. Our staff further employs industry-leading fraud prevention measures to protect both you and us.

We reserve the right to refuse any order, for any reason.

Account Terms

All purchases must be Prepaid, unless other you already have an open account with us, or unless an application for credit has been returned. Our payment terms are Net 10 Days to approved accounts. Past due invoices are charged 1.5% per month (18% per year) for accounts older than 30 days.

Please call for more information and/or application for credit. Extension of credit is at the sole discretion of Truth Seeker Productions, Inc.

Product Availability

We stock products at a level that we feel is adequate to meet your needs. We also drop-ship some products directly from our suppliers. Most items on the site ship within 1-2 business days, but from time to time, backorders occur. If you place an order for a product that can not be shipped within the standard timeframe stated on the product page, we will advise you of that as soon as we know of the delay.

Typographic, Photographic & Technical Errors

We do our best to be accurate, but occasionally mistakes do occur. We are not responsible for any typographic, photographic, and/or technical errors. Products and packaging depicted may differ from stock available at the time of shipment.

Additional

Online auctions, shady east coast video and photo retailers, theft, and importers make the market for equipment very grey. Use caution when buying. Know your dealer. You don't want to unknowingly buy used, stolen, or non-warranted gear. We once had a person call to ask whether we could help him switch his Sony camcorder out of the mode that showed menu options in Chinese.

Sorry pal, that camera was made for the Chinese market, and it wasn’t such a good deal after all.

We do not sell returned, used, or demo equipment without telling you. We never sell grey market equipment. You can be assured that you'll receive fully-warranted equipment through factory-authorized channels of distribution.

Price Matching Guarantee

We offer all products that we sell at very competitive prices. We are restricted in some cases as to the prices we can publish, so please call us before buying anything that we sell, anywhere else. We will match verifiable prices on identical, like condition equipment whenever possible. We may not be able to match prices on other dealers’ special purchase, closeout, discontinued sales, and items denoted demo, used or B-Stock.

We look forward to serving you!

]]>Dave HornTue, 13 Oct 2009 15:27:02 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/terms-a-conditionsAbout Ushttp://geartechs.com/index.php/about-us
Truth Seeker Productions was founded in 1985 and has been under its current ownership since 1992. In those years, we’ve seen a lot of change; we’ve seen products become both much more affordable and much more capable. Overall, these changes have been very good for our clients. Helping you figure out what’s right for your specific situation is where we come in.

Many companies publish catalogs and websites that aren’t much more than a list of products with prices. Since we offer both expert sales advice and professional product installation, we are different from the other guys. We’re integrators and the people with whom you’ll interact aren’t just clerks. At Geartechs.com, you will also find product reviews, great advice, real world application tips, and other information.

Our clients are everywhere – in all 50 states and even a few around the world. The knowledge and experience of our staff makes us a trustworthy source for the best in professional audio, lighting, projection, and music equipment.

We understand the challenges you face and we know the right way to do things. We hope that you’ll enjoy discovering new products right here at Geartechs.com.

Colors not vivid? Image looking “flat”? Are your whites gray/blue? If so, it might be time to update your projector’s lamp (bulb). Many projectors offer lamp life estimates of 2000 hours or more. Our experience is that after 1000 hours (8 hours a week for 2.5 years) that the picture quality of your LCD or DLP projector will degrade to the point that it doesn’t look as good as it once did. If you feel like images don’t quite “pop” like they used to, or that colors aren’t as accurate, it might not be your imagination.

Projector lamps don’t typically burn out like a lightbulb. They just fade away gradually. If you feel like your machine needs a little freshening up, give us a call at 800-747-7301. Prices range from $249-549 for most projectors. Lamps are available for most models (even older units) from virtually any manufacturer, and for models not listed on this website.]]>Bill HeinigTue, 13 Oct 2009 14:34:57 -0400http://geartechs.com/index.php/quick-projector-fixesWhen Good Projectors Go Badhttp://geartechs.com/index.php/when-good-projectors-go-bad
When Good Projectors Go Bad

“A new bulb is how much?” I hear that phrase often, and I always cringe. With projector lamps costing $400 or more, people sometimes get sticker shock and experience a sense of disappointment when their “2000 Hour” lamp fails after 800-900 hours, and when it’s not a warranty issue.

Lamp warranties are often 90 days. Why 90 days? I’m not sure, but my guess is that if you leave a projector on for 90 days at 24 hours per day, you get to that 2000 hour level just short of 90 days. There are lots of other factors that affect lamp life like voltage issues, power spikes, dirty air filters, improper power-down, etc.

Whatever the case, lamps are an expense that many people don’t consider when buying a projector. On average, we notice that churches often buy a lamp every couple years and 2-3 over the life of each projector. If you could extend that lamp life by 40%, those three lamps at $400 each become two at $400 each, and you save $400. If you could save $400 by spending less than $200, would you? You should.

The Furman AC-215 will allow you to do just that by conditioning the electrical power supplying each of your projectors (and thus protecting your investment in technology) for just $199.95. For those who use projectors more than average, your savings will be even greater and the Furman AC-215 can be used on subsequent machines, even after you upgrade from your current projector to the next one.

The Allen & Heath GL2400 Live Console is loaded with the features you need for all kinds of mixing applications. If you’re like me, you’ve had enough of bad audio to last a lifetime. The old soundman’s joke is that we’ve all bought at least two systems (hopefully not three) – the cheap one and the right one, with the right one, of course, being less expensive than the combination of the cheap one and the right one together.

I’ve been in your shoes. I evaluate new equipment every day, and sometimes get sidetracked by pretty gear masquerading as good gear. I’m always curious (and hopeful) to see if a company can really create something that works reliably, sounds good and that it can stay in business while selling for 60% less than the competition. Chinese labor can only go so far before quality has to be thrown out the window in order to hit a specific price point.

In my almost 20 years in this chair, I’ve seen many companies come and go, and have heard the stories often enough that I do everything that I can to steer you the right way. Quite frankly, if I’m trying to get a manufacturer to fix your mixer, I’m not as productive as I want to be, so it’s in the best interest of both of us for me to sell high-quality products that don’t break.

That way, your gear becomes a non-issue for you, you think that I’m a genius, and I can spend my time doing something more important – whether it’s eating lunch with the guys, watching my nephews play soccer, or telling you about something new. I really don’t like having to mess with product repair service, so I try not to, even if that means less money for me by not selling something that I know isn’t good.

I can’t count the number of times that people have said to me, “I wish that I had taken your advise and not purchased the other product.” Whatever you’re buying, there’s generally a reason to watch for when something appears to be too good to be true. There is no “something for nothing.”

In the world of audio gear, you get what you pay for every time. Who’s selling $300 ounces of gold today? No one. Why? The market price is closer to $1100. If someone offered you single ounces of gold for $300 in a $1100 environment, wouldn’t you be suspicious?

The GL2400 is within financial reach of most people, even those just starting out. It’s quite possibly the best mixer than money can buy in its price range. It offers 4 subgroups, 6 auxiliaries, and LR mixes, enhanced 7x4 matrix, multi-source stereo channels, and aux-fed subs capability. It has great microphone preamp circuitry (with an extended 74dB gain range) with massive headroom (up to +34dBu). Its responsive 4-band EQ, and every other element of circuit design has been carefully engineered to ensure the best sonic performance possible.

When I picked a new analog mixer for my own church, I picked the GL2400 32-channel model, and I get to mix on it quite often. Never a day goes by that I miss our other mixer. From day one, the system sounded better, and I found that the GL2400 was worth every penny.

If you’re tired of cheap gear that acts like cheap gear, find your way to Allen & Heath for high quality gear at reasonable prices. When you turn the knobs on the channel equalizer, the GL2400 will actually do something – and that “something” will be consistent from channel to channel to channel, all the way up and down the mixer.